The Roller Coaster

I was on a roller coaster today,

even though I don’t like them,

I had convinced myself again

that it was silly not to like a toy.

It took me up slowly, steadily chugging along,

while I happily spied the top of people’s heads

as they moved about, consumed by their lives. 

“This isn’t so bad,” I thought to myself.

It was a beautiful view once I got to the top

I felt like I owned the world from up there!

But then the car I was in suddenly raced downhill

and I was digging my nails into the safety bar,

my hair was flying behind me making my spine cold

and I was terrified, petrified, feeling paralyzed. 

It was so beyond my control, so unexpectedly violent

I felt my lunch come up in protest and my face lose color. 

I couldn’t understand why such a fall was necessary. 

And then it happened again and again

until, by the end, I was placid and conformed

to this way of life, but I was no longer smiling. 

When I got off I refused to speak to anyone around me

feeling like I needed to figure out what had happened

and that’s when I saw that this mad roller coaster,

with all it's dips and turns, ups and downs, was my life.