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Saturday 14 January 2012

the not so magic roundabout

I was a man on a Merry-Go-Round
merrily going round and round
when the man who ran the Merry-Go-Round
sent it out of control.

Then faster went the Merry-Go-Round
and faster it went again,
round and round with a screeching sound
like the death throes of a troll.

The ground around the Merry-Go-Round
became a continuous blur
and the man who'd run the Merry-Go-Round
clung to its central pole

for flames had appeared and horses reared
and the Merry-Go-Round was a casserole
in which spinning shapes had suddenly spun
out of a deep black hole.

From somewhere within the Merry-Go-Round
came sounds like a quake now, splitting the ground
and the swan I was on went down on its knees
before it began to roll.

Bits were thrown from the Merry-Go-Round,
over the fairground, far and wide
and into my lap fell a starry-eyed bride
in the shape of a porcelain doll.

I asked the man, still stuck on his pole,
could he magic the doll alive?
The Merry-Go-Round, said the man to me,
has centrifuged her soul;

it's widely dispersed across the ground
among the swings and the coconut shies.
All that is left is porcelain -
which I find irresistibly droll.

13 comments:

Mary said...

This is the stuff of nightmares, Dave....a merry-go-round spinning out of control. Yikes, your poem was so real. Well crafted.

Brian Miller said...

it also makes a fine metaphor as well...the merry go round has spun out of control...for sure...smiles.

Ygraine said...

The roundabout may not be magic, but your poem is!
I love the way it flows, and the feeling it inspires in me of actually speeding up.
I am well and truly drawn along with you into this nightmarish adventure!
Brilliant as ever Dave :)

Anonymous said...

Love, love, love this, Dave!!!

This line surprised me, and thus is the stuff of creative phenomena: "and the Merry-Go-Round was a casserole" Love the way you think. :)

I love the turn at the end with asking to magic the doll into your bride.

Another great line: "The Merry-Go-Round, said the man to me,
has centrifuged her soul"

~Shawna
(rosemarymint.wordpress.com)

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The Weaver of Grass said...

I shall not be going on the cockerels and horses again!

Tommaso Gervasutti said...

Yes, a nightmare, but an alluring one. With a great energy and roots "in the tradition" with the noble echoes of nusery rhymes.

Windsmoke. said...

Vivid imagery of a scary Merry-Go-Round ride :-).

Ash said...

Good one, Dave. Love it!

ds said...

Completely irresistible poem, sir. It has the rhythm of the carousel music & the up-and-down of the ride. And the nightmare imagery...whoa!
Brilliant. Thank you.

Rachel Cotterill said...

Wow, I even found myself reading faster and faster as it started getting out of control. Great stuff, lovely rhythm :)

Dave King said...

Mary
It is, yes, but it began with just a phrase coming into my mind from nowhere in particular.

Brian
Yes it does. Absolutely agree.

Ygraine
Thank you so much. This is such a generous response.

Shawna
Hi and a warm welcome to the blog. It is sp good to have you visiting and my thanks for a very useful comment. It really does help to have such feedback.

maldiveshotel
My thanks to you for your response.

Weaver of Grass
I always did think it a bit risky.

Tommaso
Thanks for this. Very encouraging.

Windsmoke
Thank you. Very good to have your comment.

Ash
Hi, good to have your comment. Welcome to you and thank you for visiting the blog.

ds
Your coment too, has everything, I think. Thank you so much.

Rachel
That is a brilliant observation. Thank you for it.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed this poem...very enchanting!