you must be this tall
to fly
it always rains
during fairtime
to soften dust
and frying oil
you must be this tall
to ride
into scents
blurring in pastels
to tint air
with cotton candy
blooming onions
& caramel apple
this is that line
you cross in a dare, but up
the midway
shuddering
centrifugal force
not drawn where you can
step over it
that leaves us
spun and dazzled
this is a line
we stretch past, standing on toes
to scream
when we flip
upside down
surprise
that is not a surprise
ignore the fine print
and walk away
staggering drunk
on gravity
strap yourself in
taste
how the midway releases us
into reeling brilliance
after dark
once a year we are all children
we can climb sky
for a price
on the Ferris wheel
pointing to how small
people are from here
loop between stars
and popcorn vendors
in timed swoops
of a lit needle
Susan Daniels Poetry 
Ahhh, the Ferris! That special feeling!
Love it 🙂
Ahhhh….the joys of self inflicted “terror”! the adrenaline rush, the scream, the thrill….lovely!
Oh, yes–it is fair time in Eden 🙂
Yes, Yes, Yes….I love the fair. I miss the fair. I want to be a kid at the fair again! So very, very good.
C’mon over–it is here for the next 8 days 🙂
Oh, I soooo wish. Ours has been cancelled, again, because of those pesky mosquitoes. Damn it! Can you go eat a fried dough for me? My favorite fair food!!
ooooo–I was saving my “splurge” calories for a blooming onion….I will have Zoe eat it for you!
Oh Okay. She can afford it I guess. She’s all of what? 102 pounds? Tell her to eat two then! I soooo love them. 🙂
Yummy–but I have to err on the side of savory for my “naughty points.” Evil Weight Watchers.
Yuck. But understood. SHE has no such issue. MAKE her eat one for me. please?
Will do!
TA SFAM…and ZOE, in advance. 😉
🙂 what kind should she get for you?
I like it w/sauce and cheese. no powdery sugar crap for me….omg…can hardly stand it!
mmm
stop saying that! lol
made me smile…we have a fun park and to ride one specific roller coaster you have to be 1,40 mtr. tall…and my daughter was waiting desperately to grow that tall so she can finally ride it..
Awww–the anticipation, the frustration. I remember being small and feeling left out of all the “cool” stuff.
“and walk away
staggering drunk
on gravity”
Outstanding!
Thank you 🙂
nice..enjoyed my trip to the fiar through your words…and as a child wanting to be tall enough to get on the rides…and when you do how it feels that first time too..the excitement and fear all in one…leaving us staggering….
Thank you–I am using my poor, short little boy here as my model, craning and stretching so he can be that height 🙂
I was just at the state fair this week; and my granddaughter was too short for some rides & my grandson was too tall. Sometime life at the fair is hard. You definitely left me with a vivid impression of the midway! Well penned.
Thank you, Mary. I am hoping the little guy is big enough to do more than kiddie rides this year…he will be so upset if he is not.
My teen phoned the other night she was raving about having been to Canada’s Wonderland and had gone on the biggest most scariest new ride ever made. It had to have been, it scared her…lol I remember her being upset that she wasn’t tall enough to go on some rides a few years ago.
This is so typical of the excitement of being at the fair and going on all the rides, eating candy floss or hot dogs and really enjoying the whole atmosphere of it all. Lovely read.
Thanks, Tash. I can’t WAIT to go this weekend!
ah, the rough edges of the midway…adventure, mind spinning adventure.
Love it! Makes me regress to childhood every year.
This is wonderful! It reminded me of the time my son was not quite tall enough to ride a roller coaster, so we put napkins in his shoes and then he could ride. And then over and over we rode that one roller coaster until we closed the park down.
My favorite line of this poem, though, is:
we can climb sky
for a price
on the Ferris wheel
What a wonderful image these words hold. Peace, Linda
Oh, Linda–thank you 🙂
I love the giant Ferris wheel…
You have brought the fair to life! I especially like all the food aromas you tantalized us with, and:
and walk away
staggering drunk
on gravity
Thank you, Laurie! Glad you came with me on my trip 🙂
All the fun of the fair and many memoires of childhood for me.
Thanks, John!
This poem made me feel like spinning round and going “Wheeeeeeeeee….!” 🙂
🙂 me too! Can;t wait to go…
Thanks for stopping & commenting.
True impressionism brings your fair to life with just enough specifics to imagine the busy canvas with the curve of the Ferris wheel connecting other elements in the frame. It’s a bright and intoxicating 4 X 4 canvas, and looking into it feels like flying, even if we must jump to take off. And with this same canvas I can look up to the needle swooping between stars and vender. Magic, all moving, buzzing, intoxicating, inviting.
Susan, thank you. I am dizzy and yearning to jump into the picture this weekend 🙂
Ooh…what a trip! lol…this was a joy to read, thank you 🙂
Louise, thanks so much! I love the adrenalin of the midway.
I like the exciting rollercoaster rides and those that flip people upside down. I don’t think I can take it anymore. Ferris wheels are beautiful. Joyful to read this, feeling the fun of these rides, the signatures and feeling glad one can go on the rides. 🙂
Thank you!
Brilliantly “painted”, words sparse and perfectly expressed! I never did nor do I now like the rides at a fair… but I do love visiting the animal barns 🙂
Ohhhh–I like the barns, too!
Glad you liked the whirl down the midway.
Once a year we all are children, lovely, wish we could be children for ever.
You have captured all the emotion of the moment in precise strokes, well done!
I have been up there with you, thanks for the ride!
🙂
I still love carnivals and I love your poem! It brings back so many fun memories.
Thank you! Going to make some more memories this weekend with my kids 🙂
Yay!
There’s a wonderful sense of the lift and turn of the wheel here. I like in particular the build towards the revelation of the theme. Very nicely handled.
Thank you, Dick.
Susan – What fun this was – always loved the carnival and fair – and so happy when finally tall enough for the big kid rides! K
🙂 Glad I brought you a few memories!
I love the blooming onions;-) Also so appropriate for this time of year…
Katy–thank you!
very nice susan. i knew it was the fair right away:)
Thanks, Don. Can’t wait for this weekend!
Super poem. You describe the feelings so well 🙂
Thank you very much 🙂
Beautifully captured. Now I really want to head out to the fair…
Yay! Meet you there…
is this the line we dare to cross?
i really never found rides that dramatic, just fun!! but i guess if you like fear stuff (like horror movies) looking at it like you are crossing a line could up the adrenaline
foam
You made me revisit memories of the carnivals and ride parks of my youth. Nice write.
You took me right back to the County Fair of my childhood, and the carnivals of my daughter’s. She did dare the Ferris wheel. Great write. Thank you.
Thank you for travelling with me 🙂
The centrifugal force reminds me not of the Ferris Wheel, but of the big wheel where you’re strapped in and all facing each other; then it spins and finally tips on its side. That’s for me – screaming, hoping someone down the line doesn’t lose their popcorn!
We used to call it the ‘Twirl and Puke,’ ha ha
This was beautifully done, Susan. The Ferris Wheel, too tame for me. Loved your lights, your images, your everything for this prompt! Amy
http://sharplittlepencil.com/2012/08/10/parking-lot/
Thanks Amy–had a few rides in here–like the “screamers” myself 🙂