Stop, Let Me Off!
Trapped in the wheel like a gerbil in a cage
Around and around, the flimsy chair swings
Getting nowhere and everywhere, mind gyrating
Heart races, palms sweat, breath pants
Lies he told me, review each one, make a list
Read it again, there are some you have missed
Yes, see there it is, one not confessed
Hidden receipts, gifts not for me,
He said it just started, lies again
Throw away years, for a one-night stand?
I doubt it, you liar, ‘twas a fifty-night stand
It’s over, get past it, go around again.
Reflections in circles, make them stop
I am dizzy and cannot get off
They string together, an infinite loop.
On the way up I gaze at the view
Think all is okay, I’ll make it this time
No! Suddenly down, here they come again
All the emotions whirling up and around
They scream to get off, the ride keeper won’t hear
He turns a deaf ear
Let me off, let me off, I can’t take any more.
Is there no one to save me, can no one see?
What can I think that is not about pain
Does anyone notice the brooding
Of an angry old woman, here I go again.
That slow graceful ascension, I am under control
I stop at the top, my old nightmare recurs,
The ride keeper forgot me, there as he waits
For a new rider but no one comes
He closes the chain, goes for beer with his buds,
I scream, flail my arms, no one hears me or sees
Pain wraps me in gauze so tight I have vanished
Wild gusts appear and I sway back and forth
This flimsy link chain will not keep me in
If I flip over the top.
More circular thoughts, a playground and me
Someone pushes, I scream stop, not over the top
They say it won’t, but I don’t believe them
Stop pumping, my skinny child legs slowing,
Not quickly enough, I come to center again
Heart races, palms sweat, breath catches.
The ride keeper returns as more riders arrive
The wheel starts to turn and I slowly descend
The wind has subsided, the rocking abated
I slip down the curve of the back of the wheel
And come to stop on the square wooden step
He opens my bar, not seeing me still
I slip off the step,
Someone else enters the wheel.
Around and around, the flimsy chair swings
Getting nowhere and everywhere, mind gyrating
Heart races, palms sweat, breath pants
Lies he told me, review each one, make a list
Read it again, there are some you have missed
Yes, see there it is, one not confessed
Hidden receipts, gifts not for me,
He said it just started, lies again
Throw away years, for a one-night stand?
I doubt it, you liar, ‘twas a fifty-night stand
It’s over, get past it, go around again.
Reflections in circles, make them stop
I am dizzy and cannot get off
They string together, an infinite loop.
On the way up I gaze at the view
Think all is okay, I’ll make it this time
No! Suddenly down, here they come again
All the emotions whirling up and around
They scream to get off, the ride keeper won’t hear
He turns a deaf ear
Let me off, let me off, I can’t take any more.
Is there no one to save me, can no one see?
What can I think that is not about pain
Does anyone notice the brooding
Of an angry old woman, here I go again.
That slow graceful ascension, I am under control
I stop at the top, my old nightmare recurs,
The ride keeper forgot me, there as he waits
For a new rider but no one comes
He closes the chain, goes for beer with his buds,
I scream, flail my arms, no one hears me or sees
Pain wraps me in gauze so tight I have vanished
Wild gusts appear and I sway back and forth
This flimsy link chain will not keep me in
If I flip over the top.
More circular thoughts, a playground and me
Someone pushes, I scream stop, not over the top
They say it won’t, but I don’t believe them
Stop pumping, my skinny child legs slowing,
Not quickly enough, I come to center again
Heart races, palms sweat, breath catches.
The ride keeper returns as more riders arrive
The wheel starts to turn and I slowly descend
The wind has subsided, the rocking abated
I slip down the curve of the back of the wheel
And come to stop on the square wooden step
He opens my bar, not seeing me still
I slip off the step,
Someone else enters the wheel.