Karen D'Anselmi

Tilt-A-Whirl

The Tilt-A-Whirl has seven spinning cars

each painted with a horoscope of stars

that swirl above the boardwalk and the beach

with room inside for several riders each.

The cars, attached at central pivot points,

rotate and rise like aching human joints.

Like humans, too, their upward speed is various

and often their descent becomes precarious,

depending on the distribution of

the riders and if they will fall in love

and grasp each other causing an imbalance

of rumble-tumble chaos or a slam dance,

increasing centrifugal force until

only a fight or break up can fulfill

the passion that the Tilt-A-Whirl provokes.

Or it may lead to marriage for some folks.

Karen D'Anselmi lives and works in the Hudson Valley. She is rather immature for her age. She has published poems in The Road Not Taken, Catholic Poetry Room, First Things, and The Windhover.