when i was 16

i ran away

[for 2 days]

with a carnival

passing through

and setting up

in our town...

 

my very first assignment

was as THE

'Ferris Wheel' Mechanic...

[i'd flunked out of shop]

and i was SO flattered

i din even ask about the pay

 

and then

handing me

a big

greasy WRENCH

my boss (reeking whiskey)

set me about

the hanging

and attaching

of the tippy chairs

 

rust, grease, missing parts

absent sense

diffidence

conspired

to render me

     incapable

of ever riding

on a wheel again...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

time invented me,
     this whirlwind of emotive thought -
    
tugging,
     pulling,
          grasping,
               asking,
                    begging -

 

yet begging is no use, time
is limited to us,
and in that aspect, feared
and perhaps even hated -

 

yes, i will admit to hate time,
as i know it hates me -
yet, it invented me
and there my problem lies.

 

 

©2002 Jim Stewart 01/21/02

There's a solar panel in my backyard,

and it is a weather vane too;

it brings me news from its satellite dish;

its sundial effects are from you.

 

Each turn in time is a moment,

and the patterns shadow the ground;

if you stay by my side as you promise,

I will never feel any wound.

 

Ivy