County Fair
By Karen Hartley
Hurry to the ticket booth!
Pay so you can stay all day
The clicking turnstile makes you smile
Then you’re bombarded by a
cacophony of sounds and
brightly painted horses
on the dazzling carousel
turning ’round and ’round
Noises - lights - colors
What to do first
Rides - midway - games
Thirst
Food - drink - music
Laughter - big kids - little tykes
Demos and blaring mics
Exhibits - art - quilts
Merchandise - what to buy
Jewelry - hats - items to try
From the latest fry pans and
Cooking things - to samples
and sparkling bling
Barbeque - hotdogs - popcorn
Ice cream logs
Beer - wine - animal time
Rides to the sky - the Ferris wheel and
Roller coaster - whirling things
flying swings - balloons popping - ring tossing
Children’s laughter - what’s left to do
after all of this?
Exhausted - tired and before you know it
The lights go out one by one
and suddenly, sadly
All too soon
No more fun!
Your day at the
County Fair
Is done
The staccato word bursts mimic the dazzle of a county fair! I can see and hear all the cues as we experience the fair within your poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much again! At the San Mateo fair in June, after I signed my story in the anthology, we walked all through the fairgrounds. The poem came to me a few days later, and again, was written very quickly.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you could 'be' at the fair!
Karen