Odd Moment of Solitude

Prompt: 9.12.14
Theme: solitude. Setting must be in on a carnival ride or at the circus.
Words to use: cacophony, popcorn, exclamation, interminable, island
Words NOT to use: noise, quiet, the, there,

Odd Moment of Solitude

In a dry, dusty line
of cranky children,
one of whom needs a diaper change,
a couple devouring each other
oblivious to those around them,
and three teens who think
every sentence starts
with a four lettered exclamation.

Toeing doodles in powdered dust
to pass interminable time.
Hawkers scream
"Five balls for only a buck!"
or
"Cotton candy here,"

Pink grit tastes like sweet sand.
Sticky fingered,
I clutch my ticket.
Metal screeches to a halt.
I climb aboard my ride;
alone.

Swinging island rises,
leaving cacophonous sounds below,
to fade to muted music.
A breeze wafts scents of stale,
sweaty bodies and hours old diapers
out to sea and I see
my horizon dip and sway.

A jolt. Mechanical misfire
leaves us paused mid-ride.
No panic here, as waves continue to roll in,
unconcerned as I with presumed drama.
Popcorn kernels roll back and forth
and I consider I've always been that:
an odd, un-popped kernel of corn
having never been so consumed
that I exploded into something else.

A gull wings to sit and contemplate
bodies confined in wide expanse of air;
confined, I suppose, for most.
Yet here, in this solitude midst chaos,
my epiphany jolts and I am content
sitting here tossing dead popcorn to
gull a bird to swoop and fly.

As shall I.