Being on a rollercoaster at a fun fair can be a mixed emotional experience. It can be fearful and exhilerating at the same time. This poem gives the speaker plenty of scope to present these emotions. It is a poem very suitable for choir work.
THE ROLLERCOASTER RIDE
Michele Lourie c 2016
Tickets in hand we climbed on board
The cage door soon snapped tight.
We joked as the car began to move
“Don’t let the scarey bugs bite.”
The climb was slow going up the loop
We gazed at the ground beneath
As figures went from clear to blank
We laughed, yet gritted our teeth.
At the top – a pause – we each drew breath
Gripped the rail with all our might,
A sudden lurch – a jerk – a lunge
We tipped as the car took flight.
Down, down it dropped as around each bend
The wind pinned our faces back,
Our stomachs leaped into our throats
Whenever the carriage would tack.
It cleared a sharp corner and upward sped
A missile to the sky
We hardly had time to swallow our fear
When again we began to fly.
“This is it!” someone yelled as our knuckles turned white
And we plummeted to the ground
Our heads were chambers filled with terrified screams
Our eyes closed tight in fright.
Snatches of sentences swirled all about
“Please stop,” “Let me off,” “Oh no, no!”
Each shook like a leaf as we rolled to a stop
Though none of us let it show.
We stood and stared at nothing while
Our bodies released the strain,
“Well that was alright,” said one of our group,
“Yes, come on, let’s do it again!”
