All Wide-eyed and Loving Me

May 26, 2012 at 8:19 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged Charles L. Mashburn, ferris wheel, good old days, http://dversepoets.com/2012/05/26/poetics-funfair/, humor, kissing, scared to death, writer

Claudia has the evening shift at the dVerse Poets Pub tonight, hosting Poetics: Fun Fair and has invited us to write about the fair. You know, the one with all the rides and booths and good stuff to eat. So, naturally, I took a trip back in time and came up with the following. I hope you enjoy it!

All Wide-eyed and Loving Me

 

I was eleven and knew I liked girls

But wasn’t sure why

I’d heard all the stories about love

“Went” with lots of girls

For two or three weeks at a time

Even kissed a few; maybe four

And that was the real deal

Scary though

 

I couldn’t figure it out

How something so exciting

Could be so utterly terrifying

But sometimes it was

Everything

 

All I could think about

Was kissing another girl

Maybe even falling in love

That would be the bomb

 

Then along came Boom Boom

And that song about some park

Someplace I’d never been

Saying how great a kiss could feel

Stopped at the top of the ferris wheel

 

I had to do it

 

So I laid my plans

Got up the courage

Asked her to ride with me

At the fall carnival

Praying the wheel would stop

With us at the top

So I could make my move

 

A bundle of nerves

Not saying a word

Feeling her staring at me

All wide-eyed and loving me

I just knew it

 

Then the wheel slowed

I gripped the bar and closed my eyes

And when we stopped

The car gently rocked

A cool breeze on my hot face

I felt like I was gonna be sick

 

But that wasn’t what did it

I think it was the corn dogs

Or maybe the cotton candy

Or maybe I was just scared of falling

In love

Before I was twelve

 

I decided not to kiss her

 

Copyright © 2012 C. Mashburn

When I saw Claudia’s prompt, a song started playing in my head. Then this poem came rushing out, and sadly, it’s pretty much true. The song I refer to was called Palisades Park, and was first done in 1962 by Billy “Boom Boom” Cannon. It was one of those accidents; flip side of a song they thought would be a hit that got played by accident, then went to #3 on the charts. I hope you enjoyed my little ride on the ferris wheel!

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