Orbiting the Horizon

By D Gallagher

I liked holding onto the rungs
Pushing on one, until all of them pulled me at once
As if I were preparing for jumping
Into a whirlpool of my own creation
Where sitting in the center seems risky
Or tiresome, fighting my own energy
When it’s better to be running with a lurching radius
Like a huge Python, winding round and round
As Merry-go-rounds tilt at their axis
In stages, pushing it faster and faster until it tries to throw its driver,
A disembodied wheel it can no longer drive with
And I achieve escape velocity, beyond this limited playground,
To watch the cycle quickly seem stationary from a distance

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Former professor with 20+ years experience in publishing, tv, and new media.