A Near-Drowning
Once, when I was a kid, I nearly drowned.
The sand of Old Orchard Beach was in-
dustrially pure, each grain
slipperysmooth and round.
Here, like a Ferris-wheel on its side,
to calliope strains, a horsey carousal
cranked itself dutifully 'round and around;
There, like a carousal on end,
while a Ferris-wheel fenced the horizon-
so far off none could hear
the wails of its coming-over-the-top riders.
its spokes shot glints of silver
toward the red perimeter. So clean, the air
could fry babies in minutes-
fresh and very Maine. Colors were brighter, then.
I stood at the shifting shoreline
having turned my backside to the surf
(which you should probably never do)
to watch the driftwood-colored seagulls
hover quaveringly in place,
when, from behind a frigid wave knocked me flat,
spinning and numbing me like the beginning
part of Blindman's Bluff.*
Certain I was done,
it began slowly to drag me seaward
clenched in the foaming
fingers of its sizzling grip.
'Shucks', I thought, 'I'm gone.'
But, never say 'never' I suppose.
Next moment, I felt the firm hand of my father
on my arm, contending with the wave,
warning it 'not so fast, '
and strong arms hoisting me skyward,
setting me, sputtering, on my feet.
Everything was suddenly shivery,
and swaddled in spotless terry.
We never mentioned it again, the near-drowning, thus,
watchfully friendly with the sea I remained.
In a house on stilts that night
I sniffed and ate peanut-butter and bacon sandwiches on toast-
but my snot was unusually salty for a week.
* a popular party game
poem by Morgan Michaels
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Carnival In Kenora
Twinkle, twinkle what a pity
All alone on such a pretty night
With enchantment on your side.
Popcorn, popcorn, cotton candy,
Soft voice whispers,
This can all be right
If youll come and share a ride.
Carnival in kenora!
I let him take me for a ride
On a giant ferris wheel.
Up in the neon sky
Or far from the barkers cry
One kiss can sometimes
Make you feel like a
Spinning ferris wheel.
All the tents are taken down now;
All thats left is scuffled ground now;
Still the magic echoes in the sand.
Popcorn, popcorn, cotton candy,
Now a stranger takes my hand,
We smile and the magic understands.
Carnival in kenora!
I let him take me for a ride
On a giant ferris wheel.
Up in the neon sky
Or far from the barkers cry
One kiss can sometimes
Make you feel like a
Spinning ferris wheel
song performed by by Joni Mitchell
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Ferris Wheel Of Life
(A collab write with Kayte, a fellow poet)
We're going to ride the Ferris Wheel of Life
And when it gets to the top,
We'll review each of the blessings we've received.
They never seem to stop!
Round and round we go
never stopping, never wondering
our life's struggle has it's beginning
it will always have it's ending
Along our way we've found laughter,
love and happiness, freely given by
Earth Angels we call 'Friends.' -
From them we find courage to ride
Life's Ferris Wheel time and again.
We have our ups and downs
And fears for the future in our early rise
Our aching knees we take in stride
We have a God that heals and provides
For this we trust in faith and give thanks
As long as there's beauty in the sunrise,
The sound of laughter at a sweet surprise
A child reaching for our hands to hold
The ride on Life's Ferris Wheel, we'll savor
Just knowing the blessings of God's favor,
Our hearts will be happy and we'll never grow old!
May 12,2008
poem by Meggie Gultiano
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I See Monsters
Baby, I know you cannot hear me now
'Cause you're fast asleep
But I love you now
Colors inside your head go spinning around
Like a ferris wheel
Exploding and falling to the ground
Oh, people are screaming, people are screaming
My baby, she's dreaming
Oh, people are shouting, people are freaking
I'm just staring at the ceiling
Waiting for the feeling
Oh, oh but when she calls,
I know she's the one
Makes me want her harder
Makes me want to be a little stronger
Still I see monsters
Still I see monsters
Baby, I know you cannot hear me now
'Cause you're flying around
At the speed of sound
Colors inside your head go spinning around
Like a ferris wheel
Exploding and falling to the ground
Oh, people are screaming, people are screaming
My babies, she's dreaming
Oh, people are shouting, people are freaking
I'm just staring at the ceiling
Waiting for the feeling
Oh, oh when she calls
I know that she's the one
Makes me want it harder
Makes me want to be a little stronger
Still I see the monsters
Still I see the monsters
song performed by by Ryan Adams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Wheel
Some people say lifes like a merry-go-round
I think its more like a ferris wheel
cause sometimes youre up, sometimes youre down
Sometimes you just dont know what to feel
And just when you think youve got the game figured out
And you say youve had enough
The mysterious mad man with his hand on the lever
Dont seem to never ever want to let you off
You cant get off this wheel of karma
You cant stop the hands of time
Now I have a friend, I might have a few
Sometimes I think they just dont care
But I think sometimes they think the same thing of me, yeah
You might say weve got a problem there
You know we all got this habit
We like to talk too much
And that always tends to slow you down
But we never change direction
We just keep going round and round and round and round
And let me off this wheel of karma
Let me stop the hands of time
Seems like Ive been around so many places
And I must have learned a lot of things
And although I aint yet come up with a so-called answer
At least I think I finally learned how to sing
And theres just a few things I aint got sorted out
Sometimes they make my brain get sore
Like if kids were left of all devices
Would they ever come up with a thing like war
Let us off this wheel of karma
Let us stop the hands of time
song performed by by Utopia
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Wheel
People have the right to fly
And will when it gets compromised
Their hearts say 'move along"
Their minds say 'gotcha heart'
'Let's move it along'
And airports see it all the time
Where someone's last goodbye
Blends in with someone's sigh
Cause someones coming home
In hand a single rose
And that's the way this wheel keeps working now
That's the way this wheel keeps working now
And I won't be the last
No I won't be the last
To love her
You can't build a house of leaves
And live like it's an evergreen
It's just a season thing
It's just this thing the seasons do
And that's the way this wheel keeps working now
That's the way this wheel keeps working now
And you won't be the first
No you won't be the first
To love me
You can find me
If you ever want again
I'll be around the bend
I'll be around the bend
I'll be around
And if you never stop when you wave goodbye
You just might find if you give it time you will wave hello again
You just might wave hello again
And that's the way this wheel keeps working now
That's the way this wheel keeps working now
You can't love too much one part of it
You can't love too much one part of it
I believe that my life's gonna see
The love I give returned to me
song performed by by John Mayer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Belief Of The Merry Go Round
it is another beginning
we do not know exactly where we shall mark it
this is a ring
a circle a sphere
turning and turning
round and round
in ecstasy
and pain
there is no end
we do not exactly know where we shall mark it
this is a ball
round and bouncing
this is the Ferris wheel
the May pole
this is another ride for another year
merry, merry, merry go round
how shall we feel it?
when we are too preoccupied
with what we are
and what shall we become?
this is the circle of love
and hate and love and hate
a plain of concern
and indifference
these are dances of many lifetimes
and cycles and repetitions
i see a face and make love with a body
i live in a house and walk on a path
who are you now? what place is this?
and why are we here?
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Windmills Of Your Mind
Round,
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning
Running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on its face
And the world is like an apple
Spinning silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Like a tunnel that you follow
To a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern
Where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving
In a half-forgotten dream
Like the ripples from a pebble
Someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes on its face
And the world is like an apple
Spinning silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Keys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly?
Was it something that I said?
Lovers walk along a shore
And leave their footprints in the sand
Was the sound of distant drumming
Just the fingers of your hand?
Pictures hanging in a hallway
Or the fragment of a song
Half-remembered names and faces
but to whom do they belong?
When you knew that it was over
Were you suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the colour of her hair?
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
song performed by by Sting
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Carnival Town
Round 'n' round
Carousel
Has got you under its spell
Moving so fast...but
Going nowhere
Up 'n' down
Ferris wheel
Tell me how does it feel
To be so high...
Looking down here
Is it lonely?
Lonely
Lonely
Did the clown
Make you smile
He was only your fool for a while
Now he's gone back home
And left you wandering there
Is it lonely?
Lonely
Lonely
song performed by by Norah Jones
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Intoxicating My Being
I was hiding from a light growing brighter and brighter
On a day when the sun rose earlier without any warning,
Intoxicating my being
You were seemingly still sleeping,
But I felt your wish growing brighter and brighter
In that moment when you turned suddenly to me
Wearisomely to kiss me, without any warning,
Until your kisses intoxicated my being.
So closed to you I felt just to hear
Your inner cry.
I saw love growing brighter and brighter
In your eyes and your heart began to beat faster without any warning.
A part of me you became
To synthesize my dreams.
I opened my crystal memories to breathe you
In forgiveness and love.
Your warm love
Was a geyser
In the middle of my glaciation.
You could satisfy my painful concatemer.
Our future was seemingly laying on the ashes of my dying loneliness.
poem by Marieta Maglas
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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A Dance In Circles
you must have seen how life is painted
by one great artist
a dance in circle
where we hold our hands and
then we keep
revolving around
the axis that we
ourselves form
a merry-go-round on this side
a ferris wheel going up
arm to arm and face to face
we like it
each of us feeling like a ring
without an end without a beginning
we project to the very least
our sense of love for something that is eternal
we say we are not meant just to be here
we are meant for something higher
not rectangular, no longer circular
but something else, we even say this
is something felt and yet unspeakable
something so near us and yet still so far
like how we see the stars as tiny specks
so far away and yet so true and real
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The King Of Sunset Town
(music: marillion lyrics: steve hogarth & john helmer)
A ragged man came shuffling through
A puppet king on the 4th of june
And butterflies from all around
Settled on his paper crown
A pretty sight it seemed to be
An avenue of eternal peace
But he said, what is here can soon burn down...
Im the king of sunset town
Watch a big wheel turning round
Some go up and some go down
Some go thirsty some just drown
Thats the law round here
Said the king of sunset town
And in the night he comes to me
And the square becomes a battlefield
Of staring eyes that cant explain
The insanity and the greater game
Watch a big wheel turning round
Some go up and some go down
Some go thirsty some just drown
Thats the law round here
Said the king of sunset town
Thats the law round here
A ragged man came shuffling through
The corridors of this white place
And as he lay his body down
I saw the scars that lined his face
And injured souls came to his bed
To hear the stories he would tell
Of butterflies and summertimes
And everyone assembled here
Remembers how it used to be
Before the 27th came
This place will never be the same
He said
Im the king of sunset town
Watch a big wheel turning round
Some go up and some go down
Some go thirsty some just drown
Thats the law round here
Thats the law round here
Said the king of sunset town
Im the king of sunset town
song performed by by Marillion
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Celtic Sonant
Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining star to you
Deep peace of the son of peace to you
One man stood firm guarding cups overflowing
Brimful of memories and yesterdays dreams
He could never explain his own silent thunder
The ocean just blows rough at this time of year
And the wheel keeps on turning
The wheel keeps on turning
The wheel keeps on turning
Turning around
Away we will sail with all our flags flying
Too many changes can cause us delay
Each star in the sky is there for a reason
Making it so bright for this time of day
And the wheel keeps on turning
The wheel keeps on turning
The wheel keeps on turning
This fool made it round
song performed by by Moody Blues
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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They have the big ferris wheel and we've been out of town for two months, so he just was like, 'Mommy I want to go to Toys R Us and I don't care if you have a movie coming out and all that.' He was just being a kid. But I had to allow him to have that moment.
The Windmills Of Your Mind
Round
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel thats turning
Running rings around the moon
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Like a tunnel that you follow
To a tunnel of its own
Down a hollow to a cavern
Where the sun has never shone
Like a door that keeps revolving
In a half-forgotten dream
Or the ripples from a pebble
Someone tosses in a stream
Like a clock whose hands are sweeping
Past the minutes of its face
And the world is like an apple
Whirling silently in space
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
Keys that jingle in your pocket
Words that jangle in your head
Why did summer go so quickly?
Was it something that you said?
Lovers walk along a shore
And leave their footprints in the sand
Is the sound of distant drumming
Just the fingers of your hand?
Pictures hanging in a hallway
And the fragment of a song
Half-remembered names and faces
But to whom do they belong?
When you knew that it was over
You were suddenly aware
That the autumn leaves were turning
To the colour of her hair
Like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
As the images unwind
Like the circles that you find
In the windmills of your mind
song performed by by Dusty Springfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Comedians
(elvis costello)
I sat there alone upon the ferris wheel
A pastel colored carriage in the air
I thought youd leave me dangling for a little while
A silly twist upon a childish dare
Below I saw you whispering to another man
Who held the lever that could bring me down
Hed stop the world from turning at your command
Its always something cruel that laughter drowns
And Im up while the dawn is breaking
Even though my heart is aching
I should be drinking a toast
To absent friends
Instead of these comedians
I can hardly hear the music from the carousel
The wind picks up, the carriage starts sway
As one by one the lights go out
Its closing time
I see you take his hand and walk away walk away
They say that you will always be the last to know
They say that all that glitters is not gold
Its not just that youre never coming back to me
Its the bitter way that I was told
And Im up while the dawn is breaking
Even though my heart is aching
I should be drinking a toast
To absent friends
Instead of these comedians
song performed by by Roy Orbison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lost At Sea
Can we try to salvage what we can
From the weight of water and sand
And lifts us up again
Well this world is spinning out of control
Im bracing just to keep hold
As the clouds move in
With a driving wind so strong
Could it be that were lost at sea
And were drowning under the stars
Up to me I would ride this wave
Before we drift too far
What a lonely way to be
Lost at sea
Like a star in a night filled with tears
Make the sadness disappear
cause youre all that I hold dear
Well you walk
Never ever looking back
One defends and one attacks
Theres a thousand reasons to begin again
Could it be that were lost at sea
And were drowning under the stars
Up to me I would ride this wave
Before we drift too far
Take my hand, come to me
Save a life, rescue you, rescue me
Could it be that were lost at sea
And were drowning under the stars
Up to me I would ride this wave
Before we drift too far
Could it be that were lost at sea
And were drowning under the stars
Up to me I would ride this wave
Before we drift too far
song performed by by Bangles
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sandy Thoughts
'Ride this wave with me and know,
That every wave leads to a beach
But every beach is different.
The beach I seek is one where
The sand fits perfectly between my toes
Like your fingers between my hand.
Where the water embraces my skin in warmth,
To remind me how it feels to hold you.
A beach where me and you are the only ones,
To let you know, you are my only one.
I am not afraid of where this wave will take us,
I am afraid that you and I will never see the beach I seek.
That when I look back and think, what could have been,
Should have been, will never be.'
poem by Vinh Nguyen
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Drivin Wheel
(t-bone burnett/billy swan)
Well, all I want is a love thats hot
Cant be sold, cant be bought
Yeah, love that dont try to be somethin its not
Well, all I need is a love thats real
None can rob and none can steal
Hey, love that moves like a drivin wheel
Well, all I want is drivin wheel
All I want is a drivin wheel
All round love my ideal
Well, all I want is love thats right
To hold onto with all my might
Hey, early in the mornin and late at night
Well, all I want is drivin wheel
All I want is a drivin wheel
Hey, all round love my ideal
All I want is a drivin wheel
All I want is a drivin wheel
Hey, all round love my ideal
All I want is a drivin wheel
All I want is a drivin wheel
Well, all round love my ideal
song performed by by Emmylou Harris
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sandpiper
The roaring waves that is shaking the beach
the hissing surf that shines like glass
is part of its world and continually it is just out of reach
where wave upon wave is passing as it runs fast
and it is quick on little brittle dark feet
where sucking small sand grains
sweep in and out and water foams on sheet upon sheet
and there the rushing little bird remains
while its world is at times filled with vapour
and then again suddenly clear
it is focussing on things minutely small while waters roar
are drawing very near
it is continually searching for some allure
it runs and runs on little feet that are sure
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The Love Machine
(words & music by nelson - burch - taylor)
Step right up to the love machine
You may get lucky when you zap a dream
Let the wheel go round, round and round
You may win that girl youve never found
She may be suzy or maybelline
She could be cathy or angeline
Let the wheel go round, round and round
Try your luck right now on the love machine
Were just a bunch of salty sailors
One thing on our mind
Takin a chance on this machine
Maybe love well find
She maybe tall she maybe short
She may be wide
But lady luck stop that wheel
On 38-24-35
Step up, whose next in line
This love machine dont waste no time
Let the wheel go round, round and round
What will your fortune be on the love machine
All right
Were just a bunch of salty sailors
One thing on our mind
Takin a chance on this machine
Maybe love well find
She maybe tall she maybe short
She may be wide
But lady luck stop that wheel
On 38-24-35
Step up, whose next in line
This love machine dont waste no time
Let the wheel go round and round and round
And round and round and round and round
What will your fortune be on the love machine
What will your fortune be on the love machine
song performed by by Elvis Presley
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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