Merry-Go-Round

A fat aunt sidesaddle 

in neon slacks 

licks a pistachio custard

(now a grinning tiger)

while the calliope groans

for a circus of charged-up kids

who drop crackerjacks

and reach for rings of gold

(again the grinning tiger)

as a little blond boy in blue 

grasps the brass pole

of his swooping steed

eyes shut in white fear

(again the grinning tiger)

and chariots drawn by plyboard swans

carry tots too small

to ride on wooden chargers

         until

(once again the grinning tiger)

the cymbals

the hawk of the barker

the dizzy delight

(and even the grinning tiger)

with a resonant clang 

all of a sudden--cease.