Roller Coaster Ride

 

Claremont Showgrounds
 

When you return each year
to the spin & warp of the universe,
you're not thinking of heroics.
Your ear instructs you to the polo,
woodchopping, flower & produce show.
 

You're not thinking of cruising the air
in the Chair Lift, your name called last
for the Camel Ride, or the one-off number
you couldn't collect for Big Bear or Panda.
 

What you feel is the tug & pull,
your children's clammy hands
spidering you from mirrored hall
to auguries of loops & bounds; their minds intent
on speed. You defend their frequency for fun
& journey as a life pursuit.
 

Like a poem the Roller Coaster clicks to attention,
starts slowly. You're there, stirring with gallantry,
as a Swan might protect her two ducklings
unsteady in flight.
 

Locked in by steel, fingers cool in their expression
day becomes night, eyes shut tight. The force
is unforgettable in the sideways hurl, steady climb,
overhead course. Lungs knotted, your heart travels
somewhere behind your life.
 

When it's over you know you're a hero
in your children's eyes. You've become a new
mythology, a sister to Icarus who didn't fail.
They don't see your dizzy gait,
showgrounds wobbly on the side,
a throat stuck for the learning.
They only spy "chaos ahead!"
the loose change in your purse,
the next ride.

 Read Other Poems from my new collection"Evangelyne & Other Poems"

The Word Evangeline -
The word Evangelyne/ Evangeline has its roots in the Greek language. 'Evangelium' or 'euangelion' means 'good tidings'. For a girl's name - angel of God.

How to contact me-
Phone on (08) 9343 0072
or Email: Helen Hagemann 

or write for information to PO Box 331, WANNEROO, Western Australia 6946

Copyright 2005-2008 © Unless for the purpose of study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without the written permission of the author.