Carnival

My arms made of steel
Riveted and stretched high into the night
The Ferris wheel turning between my shoulders
The flesh of our hips pulling against one another
Like taffy in the machine

One hundred feet below
Your heart climbs out of your chest
To watch like a child
As I swing the giant hammer
Lighting yellow bulbs
Rising up to ring the bell
To prove my strength
And win for you a snow white teddy bear
With black plastic eyes

You are frightened by the casual evils here:
The boy with the German shepherd face
And the serpent with two heads

The world spinning around you:
Pink cotton candy clinging to white paper sticks
The quickening music of the merry-go-round
Fractured colors splashing across the faces of strangers
Until dizziness wraps its hands around you

Somewhere above the din
You hear the moan and grunt of my breath
It anchors you to the sky with the clink of a chain
And you feel
For the first time in your life
That you are safe

This safety becomes pleasure
Filling your body with a golden steam
That seeks escape
Through clutching hands and curling toes
And finally in the hiss of a sigh
Leaving you as heavy as sleep
Or the future

You are sure that this weight is real
Your thoughts wander to the house of mirrors
You see your reflection, seduced by itself
Giving birth to infinity
You turn sideways, as if to disappear
And are overcome by the desire
To run and never stop