Ferris Wheel

A ballet of colors spins and glides in perfect circle.
Eyebrows lift and the spine tingles.
I reach my little gondola, the blue one
and sit next to a girl I don’t know.

Our weight causes the gondola to wriggle and writhe
and all of a sudden, everything shudders.
Goosebumps traipse across my arms
as I reach for something to hold onto.
We are airborne.

The ground pulls away from us as quick as
the candy-maker stretches and pulls his taffy.
It’s almost too much until we approach the top;
we are suspended.

The rush of fighting gravity
has brought us together
and we can smile as we realize
neither of us is holding our breath anymore.

All along the wheel I see who each of us are.
Our ride wouldn’t be the same
without hearing each other’s laughs,
without calling out to one another,
without waving at each other.

We are all spinning, until we aren’t.
Sunshine and cut grass spill into view
as we quickly reach ground again.

Parents approach the gate
snapping photos and asking how the ride was.
It’s inexplicable though because
the world you saw from the top
is your own, and no one else will see it.