Amusements
These are the long days that fill with night
As the amusement park goes silver, pink, and gold.
The chimes still lure the crowds through a hazy glow
To the Haunted House, the Tunnel of Love.
The mallet thumps hard and clangs the bell.
And here, the roller coaster looms above,
Brightly-painted cars in endless ascent.
The line, longer than it seemed, wends to snake
Around the bend to the clicking, cold stile
And the seat that will pull you so high you can view
The landscape all around as if it were new—
Fields, lakes, and freeways, spread below a moment,
Then the clinking slows as you reach the top
And panic, knowing you can’t make it stop.
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