Page 12 - Contrast1979Decemberv23n1

Walking back down the boardwalk
to where the Zipper throws it's colors against the night
the Merry-Go-Round music repeats itself into silence
the fat ticket-taker lady dresses in oran§8 tops,
she buys cups of ice water and saves her dimes
for the toilet
bright sun-suited kids scream in cars whipping at the end of the tracks
the pier
lined wi th cheap stuffed animals
and disco rides
crowded with pushing faces
gas line veterans, city cripples,
dirt balls in jeans swinging chains
the tiny bells of the arcade
and the los t Merry-CD-Round song
lead you into this two-week vacation
away from dropping bombs and raising wages
you walk back into
the metal garden of pink rusted nails
and mechanical dreams
child town
fallen down

--Nancy Menefee