Have I been too long at the fair?

Have I been too long at the fair?
by Michael R. Burch

 
Have I been too long at the fair?
The summer has faded,
the leaves have turned brown;
the Ferris wheel teeters . . .
not up, yet not down.
Have I been too long at the fair?
 

This is one of my earliest poems, written around age 15 when my family was living with my grandfather in his house on Chilton Street, within walking distance of the Nashville fairgrounds. I remember walking to the fairgrounds, stopping at a Dairy Queen along the way, and swimming at a public pool. I believe the Ferris wheel only operated during the state fair, so my “educated guess” is that this poem was written during the 1973 state fair, or shortly thereafter. I remember watching people hanging suspended in mid-air, waiting for carnies to deposit them safely on terra firma again, neither all the way up nor all the way down. Keywords/Tags: Fair, State Fair, Amusement, Amusements, Carny, Carnies, Ferris Wheel, Roller Coaster, Leaves, Dangling, Suspended, Fall, Falling, Limbo, Big Top, Big Show, Circus, Carnival, Sideshow, Gypsy, Gypsies, Summer, Autumn

Reviews

[Jennifer Patino]

It speaks to me of awareness of how time passes so quickly, even from such a young perspective.

[Michael R. Burch]

Yes, and that moments of happiness can be fleeting, transitory. My mother's parents lived in England. When we could visit them, I was happy, but inevitably we would have to leave them, and I was disconsolate. So I grew up with an understanding of happiness turning to sorrow in an instant.