life is sometimes a lonely walk in a carnival
all around you the rides cacophonate
children run and squeal and giggle
grownups wander smiling, but cautiously
on watch for pickpockets, kidnappers, thieves
as if they would flock to the noise and crowds
who normally ply their trades where and when
other business people do, or in the dark
young people laugh and walk as if unseeing
except each other, and there you are
one ticket for the carousel, one for the ferris wheel
one for the tilt-a-whirl, one ticket for the mirrors
where at least some of them show a pair of you
or you stretched out then squished down
exactly like you feel walking alone in a holiday
no matter how often people bump into you
walking straight through a carnival swirl
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