The Ferris wheel pierces cloudlight,
its topmost arc alone in the pale sky.
A single cabin glints, breathless and suspended.
Fascination rises — thin, bright, still.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I grip the safety bar and breathe in,
my knuckles bleach white.
The gondola creaks,
swaying with the weight of wonder
The seat lurches forward~
I count each click of the gears rising,
each notch bringing me closer
to the apex where the sky hesitates.
Up and up! Below me~
the park shrinks into a toy set
abandoned by careless hands.
At the top, the world shifts.
Cars blend into the streets like melted crayons.
Lights blur into liquid amber,
streaking across my retinas.
My stomach lifts, not from height
but from the sudden understanding
that the world is round after all.
I can see the curve of it now,
the way the horizon bends
to meet my dangling shoes.
At the top, I stop breathing,
just long enough to let the moment
stretch like taffy between my fingers.
Years ago I wrote a memoir vignette ("Ticket to Ride") based on this experience; you may read it at Poetry Soup as follows: www.poetrysoup.com/short_stories/ticket_to_ride_13584
You may not remember this exact moment
Nor remember the reason we’re here
The music that was playing
The smiles and laughs of friends near and dear
Or even gently tucking my hair behind my ear
But tonight under the fall night sky
I wont let this moment fall away
Because were here on this ferris wheel
And you are mine, and I am yours
The Tower was engineered
by Monsieur Eiffel in Paris
the Wheel was favoured
by Mr. Ferris
Michelangelo in Rome
contributed St. Peter's Basilica dome
Eddystone Lighthouse the first
was constructed by Winstanley and
in St. Paul's Cathedral
Sir Christopher Wren had a hand
the seated Thinker
was carved out by Auguste Rodin
the Taj Mahal (Mumtaz') tomb
commissioned by Shah Jahan
all roads lead to the Colosseum
started by Emperor Vespasian
Borglum executed Mount Rushmore
while Hadrian gave us the Wall
and Ferdinand de Lesseps
secured the Suez Canal
in Byzantine Constantinople
Justinian I built the Hagia Sophia
in Italy Bonanno Pisano began
the (later leaning) Tower of Pisa
the Egyptian Pharaoh Khafre
inspired the Sphinx
but in Scotland who designed
the Musselburgh (golf) Links
The rusted Ferris wheel, a skeletal hand,
Points to a sky it can no longer command.
Once, laughter echoed, joy on the breeze,
Now silence reigns, whispered by the trees.
The carousel horses, their paint chipped and worn,
Dream of merry-go-rounds, of days yet unborn.
Once, children squealed, clinging to their steeds,
Now shadows dance, where happy laughter bleeds.
The cotton candy stand, its windows cracked and dim,
Holds the ghost of sweetness, a forgotten whim.
Once, sugary clouds, a magical delight,
Now only dust motes, swirling in the light.
The roller coaster track, a metal serpent curled,
Whispers of thrills, a forgotten world.
Once, screams of delight, a dizzying race,
Now only rust and wind, in this silent space.
The park stands empty, a monument to time,
A reminder of moments, once so sublime.
The ghosts of laughter, echo in the breeze,
Whispering of memories, of happy, carefree days.
With cotton candy
Pink and dandy,
Funnel cakes, sweet
All you can eat
A Ferris wheel
To make you squeal,
The carousel
Sure looks swell
Toss a ring
To win something,
Pop a balloon
You'll get it soon
Try to get that prize
Go for the biggest size,
Win a pet if you wish
Take home a goldfish
Stay there all night
For every sound and sight,
Like a kid again, be
So much to do and see
Show off what you do
Win a ribbon, blue,
Shower what you raise
With the highest praise
Craft and quilt
By hands built,
Goodness canned
Grown on the land
Pumpkins and pies
To delight the eyes,
Each cow and pig
The biggest of the big
Farmer's best on display
Sat in a pile of hay,
Take in the dairy air
At the county fair!
Dour ferris wheel, are you haunted?
Dark a place to sit peacefully,
enjoy a spell if you’re lonely;
Disguised cloaked in what I wanted,
my insecurities flaunted;
False eyes like you understood me;
Dour ferris wheel
everything inside you taunted;
Needling me repeatedly
low lights glow spectacularly;
Your gloom never left me daunted,
Dour ferris wheel.
Ferris Wheel Magic:
spin and spin around the world
never leaving place!
PS reading poet Otavio Coral RL
text RODA GIGANTE
On a ferris wheel enjoying the love
An opportunity to propose thirty feet above
A thrill enhanced
A wonderful chance
To ask the big question didn't need a shove
around
And Around
Convergence news chirality
Convenient use hue rainbow chronology carnality
Fast tracks flashbacks
New convergent reality
Hypocritical political
Around and around
Tangent stanger truth is not fiction
Again realities convictions
Fantasies detention
Why does my spirit soul are mine so hurt?
Reason I'm in a alternate universe
Here on this filthy Earth
Feel like I'm on a Ferris wheel of Life
No lie, goodbye?
6/18/21
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2021
Heart
desires
seeks,
even
as we weep.
Cyclic
pain
and joy,
as ordained,
does wax and wane,
immersing
us in
fear,
for we
know not when,
Gods gifts
are
taken
back.
08-June-2021
Waltz wave contest poetry contest
Sponsor: Kim Merryman
A Waltz Wave has 19 lines with a syllable count of:
1,2,1,2,3,2,1,2,3,4,3,2,1,2,3,2,1,2,1.
The Ferris wheel rotates, altering views,
each moment in time having appeal
for the knower, who has so seen,
thus frolicking in delight,
at the cyclic movement,
leaving for others
to colour life
by free will
choosing
joy
~
in
this play
we yet see
frowning faces
and fearful glances,
of contracted soul forms,
entrapped in past or future,
akin to a dead man walking,
frittering away the gift of life,
employing their own free will, to do so.
12-February-2021
Come on! He urged Cameron. I’m your friend, aren’t I?
Cameron’s fear was showing. He did not want to die.
It’s my dad’s favorite thing, much more valuable than me.
But it was Ferris Beuller and he had intimidation velocity.
So they took the red Ferrari off the pedestal of his Dad.
And they drove it a few miles through Chicago big and bad.
They stopped at school to pick up Sloane, Ferris’s fine queen.
They had a day in the windy city such as Cameron had never seen.
His fear held him hostage, finally sent him into paralyzed mode.
This did not stop his best friend Ferris whose ideas were pure gold.
He and Slone had some near misses, but kept Principal Rooney away.
Actually Rooney ended up being chased by a sister and dog that fine day.
John Hughes, the wonder writer of the eighties, created this movie.
He wrote and directed, and walked on for a small part, not as a juvie.
It brought in seventy million in ’86, not bad for a teen film that day.
Ferris Beuller’s Day off will at the top of my favorite list always stay.
some other world passed by that night
through wet circles on the glass.
against the blur of dark and light
crowds swarmed and walked en-masse.
the storm picked up along South Shore
spitting patterns on the screen.
the wipers rubbed and squeaked once more
leaving fan shapes where they’d been.
the lights that danced above the clubs
were synced to move like real.
they chased down piers and past the pubs
and round the ferris wheel.
our car would crawl and stop again
as we queued in single file.
through steamed up windows and driving rain
beat the heart of The Golden Mile.
we left the farm in early morn
mom, pop, pet, sister and me
down winding tree-lined country roads
to find a Ferris wheel fantasy
ruts in the old dirt road we rode
bounced dad’s rusty red jalopy
Fritz, a spotted white shepherd dog
found travel his brand new hobby
fourteen miles from a quiet church
steel towers poked the morning sky
around the bend near trout stream glen
midway marvels caught my eye
noses found the animal barn
with new shorn sheep and gabby goats
pudgy pigs ten brown cows
new moan hay and horsey oats
mother sought sweet kettle corn
father went to where engines roar
mama fed us sausages
dad slipped off to more explore
creaky wooden roller coasters
calliopes and midway clowns
bumper cars and a carousels
cure the ills and fix the frowns
the special prize for all us kids
is not fried chicken on a stick
or stinky plop drop petting zoos
it is, the coolest rides we pick
B1298B
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.