Starting slowly
Clicking softly
Small round wheels begin to turn

The tracks
Inclining gradually
Then steeper

Cresting the top
Pausing
A moment of silence

Snaking chain of cars
Gaining speed
Faster
Faster

Stomach dropping
Not enough breath to scream
Flimsy metal bars
Turn to rubber

Slowing
Time to catch a breath
Smile breaking across relieved faces

Plunging down
Suddenly
High pitched screams
Filling the air

Accelerating wildly
Tipping dangerously to one side
Imagining
Cars unhooked
Flying wildly off the tracks
Crashing

But
Still firmly on the rails
Ground is where the sky should be
Upside down


Careening down
Or is it up?
Toward solid Earth

Swooping upwards once again
The sky is back
Where it should be

Already falling
Twisting
Stomach dropping
Heart pounding
Too rapidly

On the never-ending
Roller coaster
Of life