Temporary Attractions

In August they appear
shimmering out of the highway haze.
Metal caravans refracting the sun.
They set up in plain view.
In parking lots or
the rented dirt of fair grounds.

By nightfall they’re up
red lights running
the kind of cheap attraction
built to go up as quickly as it comes down.

The crowds wander in
looking for a late night thrill.
They wait in long lines
for the chance to take their turn,
to lose their breath
on that slow ride
Up up up to the top

They pay a heavy price
for that moment of weightlessness,
before being plunged
back down to the ground.

In the morning there is
nothing left but trash.
Empty containers and paper wrappers
used then discarded.
Things that once held a purpose,
thrown away for somebody else
to eventually have to pick back up.