The Carnival Enterprise Poem by David Lewis Paget

I got a job at the Carnival,
All the fun of the fair,
With its Carousels and its Wishing Wells
And The Ferris wheel up there,
With a Gyro Tower and a Gravitron
You could hear the squeals of glee,
As they whirled about, and one fell out,
Nothing to do with me!

My only job was to strap them in
And I went from ride to ride,
They told me to familiarise
Myself with every side,
I loved the whirling Octopus
And the Swinging Pirate Ship,
But of them all, the Matterhorn
Was the one I found most hip.

I ended up on the Enterprise
At the closing of the night,
‘Just two more rides, ' the man announced,
‘For a journey into fright! '
I strapped them into each Gondola
As the twenty patrons paid,
And heard their screams as they soared aloft,
I could tell they were dismayed.

The ride came down with a grinding halt
And I went to let them out,
But no-one sat in the Gondola's
Then I heard the Barker shout,
‘Last ride, last ride in the Enterprise, '
And the twenty folk got in,
I said, ‘What happened to all the rest? '
But he cried, ‘Don't fuss now, Tim.'

The Enterprise had begun to spin
And carry them all aloft,
Then disengaged from its base and floated
Over a farmer's croft,
The sky was an inky black that night
And dotted with glittering stars,
And I swear today, I heard him say:
‘They're heading on up to Mars! '

17 January 2017