If I could slip out of this skin
And don the unblemished features of a kid long since vanished
To the carnival I would fly

I’ll paint this fantasy on an autumn day
Where an orange sun sleeps on the western horizon
Golden leaves hide the sidewalks
And the air carries the lingering fragrance of a departed afternoon shower

The entrance stands before me
Magical
A Ferris wheel slicing that rusty sun
A distant barker shouting the hour’s winner
The scent of rain suddenly sweetened and buttered

With a lighter pocket
But a stamp on the back of my hand marking my entrance
A rush of choices flood my mind:
Haunted house? Roller coaster? Ring toss?

I let my feet do the deciding
Worn sneakers pressing against sawdust and dirt
Simply walking in the organized chaos

Do you see it?
The swirl of blue cotton candy
The fortune teller peering through the cloudy window
The man with the top hat striding on stilts

Do you hear it?
“Come one, come all, the greatest show you’ve…”
“Ladies and gentlemen, step right up and…”
“That’s right, people. The heaviest man on the face…”

Do you feel it?
The warmth exhaling out of the aerobatics tent
The vibrating ground
The energy of a thousand racing hearts

As a child we experience
But don’t appreciate these moments
Of beauty and magic

It’s only by peering
Back through time’s tunnel
As an adult
That the lens is cleaned

We understand and cherish
But the experiencing part is long done

(c) 2010 by Vincent Lowry