GIDDY

For Albert's Poetry Cafe Word Forum Challenge "Carnival"

 

 

 

GIDDY

 

raw earthy decadent smell of carnival

flashing mirrors and bright lights frighten me

the carousel giddy with color

ruby red garish paint splashed

speckled orange and green on stationary horses

with bizarre wooden faces

 

I hang suspended as music starts to grind

desperately feeling for stirrups that feet never reach

my stomach rolls over like a piano roll

in time with the clanking of the greasy machinery

the smell of oily rags hang from the overall's

of a freckled face youth with cheeky grin

 

round and round, blurred faces flashing before me,

I grab the gold pole attached to my poor inanimate pony

held so tightly that my knuckles turn red, white then numb

 

blurred faces, horses, noises, the sickly smell of sawdust

meld together and I am loosing my grip on the slippery

glossy brown petrified saddle, the music blares

some show tune as the carousel moves at a frightening pace

 

then suddenly the ride is over.....

I have conquered my fear

at least until next time.

 

 

 

(c) Helena 2008

 

 

Author's Note

My memory of a carousel or (merry-go-round) as a child.

THANK YOU FOR READING MY WORDS

Reviews

[emmajoy]

Helena, this is wonderful! You truly are a master (mistress?) of creating a picture, a moving picture in this case, with finely constructed words.

'the carousel giddy with color' - now why couldn't I have come up with that phrase!

'blurred faces, horses, noises, the sickly smell of sawdust / meld together and I am loosing my grip on the slippery / glossy brown petrified saddle, the music blares / some show tune as the carousel moves at a frightening pace' - those words took me there, I was standing, watching you - now you see her, now you don't!

Hope you got over your fear. This is going into Favourites. Thank you for sharing.

[Nancy Lee Shrader]

Thought I was there. Still remember my first ride as a child. The fear and then ride again and again and again.

blurred faces, horses, noises, the sickly smell of sawdust

meld together and I am loosing my grip on the slippery

glossy brown petrified saddle, the music blares

some show tune as the carousel moves at a frightening pace



then suddenly the ride is over.....

I have conquered my fear

at least until next time.

[Jennifer Elizabeth]

i love this. the imagery is excellent. i really thought i was at a carnival. and i was scared, too. personally, i think they're a little too "giddy" for my taste, to use your own words.

"the smell of oily rags hang from the overall's
of a freckled face youth with cheeky grin"

-perfect way to describe carnies. I always thought they were a little off.

very well written.

[Lena M. P.]

Very real. The fright and pride of living through it one more time. I feel the same way with Ferris wheels. Well written.

[Sharon Miller Bolander]

Oh, Helena, I must have ridden the same horse. I remember the white knuckles, the accelerating speed, and the feeling that I was slowly sliding off the slippery wooden horse to some unknown doom. You took me there once more, and my stomach feels the same as it did in childhood. Wonderful poem! Sharon