Romany Song

Alone in dusky stillness, curious to touch the light and sound
of a faint distant song, I stumble toward the carnival glow,

But tripping nearer, raucous fury! blinding flash!
a jarring retreat to the twilight smile,
the sweet material breath wherein the soul rests,

Then hears the carousel once more upon some unseen stir
and wanders innocent toward life's freeway Siren,
a toddler unattended, a porch too small.

The ebb and flow, the rise and fall, the soul's pulse as it seeks its own--
exploratory alurums and excursions, then rapid retreat to desperate sanctuary--

All brave advances mired in confusion,
the rhythm unestablished, activity without cadence--
a most disjunctive tune.