The infinite gaze of the carnie and his bobbing head
Are the evidence that this music will end the
Ferris wheel any second. The rain falls, the metal
Stills to a lull and then we run for our cars in a mad rush
To escape the dollops of running colours.
Cancer from the clouds will undo our machinations,
And this is the end of the night we spend by the
Tilt-a-whirl, the carnie games and hot dogs.
This is the world of heartburn. The world of sex
And drunken nights along county highways for a
Summer long, maybe the next, or the next, maybe AIDS or something else.
Maybe another night in the Mt. Albert pub until the
Waitress tells us to go back to the caravans and stop
The long calls of orgasm by midnight this year.
How did I get here, how did I arrive at a life unchosen?
My cigarette will burn down and I will sleep alone
Or with the girl from the fish game, or the girl
From the duck game. They are barely different.
This is the only bar in town.