Carousel of Perpetual Motion
A poem
Carousel of perpetual motion
Always moving,
forward, upward, onward
faster, faster,
round and round
Getting there, wherever, anywhere
Perpetually overruling the Joy of the journey
Joy of the journey
with its detours and sights
revelations and hidden gems
Unseen from the Carousel
where only the heartless
enjoy the ride
The rest of us get lost
in the motion sickness of the Carousel
We lose our souls
in the blinding light of blurry shapes,
shooting past with lightning speed
We lose our hearts
in reaching for intenible riches,
built on crumbling pedestals
Faster and faster the Carousel spins
Fingers strain from holding on
Nails crack from digging in
Hands ache from gripping hard
holding on to the notion that
the Carousel is all there is
the Carousel is the only way to be
When fingers fail to hold on
to the slippery surface of the Carousel
When hearts fail to yearn
for the elusive destinations promised
When souls fail to fill
with the empty promise of tomorrow
We fall off the Carousel
Hearts and souls screaming
from the failure in itself
As we scream and bodies fall
in agonizing downward motion
the surprising cushion of a plush meadow
catches us, breaking our fall
The richest garden of Eden
that we never knew existed
thriving in the exile man has imposed
As our hearts fill and
our souls replenish
our eyes open to reveal Nirvana
where explosive colors of exotic flowers
majestic rivers and ancient trees
tallest mountains and deepest valleys
go on forever, neverending
And in our failure, we can learn
the lesson meant for all of us
That failing isn’t failure in itself
and destruction breathes new life into life
That the Carousel isn’t all there is
and falling off gives new perspective
That the journey is the magical part
and to enjoy it while we’re here
