Dwight Grabowsik and Julie Katz Go the Carlton County Fair
Dwight and Julie tackled
the daylight with a
sticky faced vision of summer.
Cotton candy,
nasty warm,
glued to their senses.
They paused for an oral blessing
between the ring toss and
ball throw,
hot and stinging
a dragon’s kiss.
The fire of their desire
broiled around them like a
prairie tornado.
Dwight stopped
to touch a pellet gun, coaxing
him to take pink
rabbits and blue poodles
for trophy.
Julie admired herself
in the reflection of cream soda bottles
while the sunglasses of older men
watched her decide what the taste
for the day would be.
As they paced each step through
the midway, their hands
held initial lust,
fumbling in each others
back pockets
as they walked towards
their target
a sphinx-like roller coaster
resting on the sizzling concrete.
Rattled wood temped them
like a garter snake,
as they handed in their tickets,
and climbed aboard.
They gazed past each other,
seeing the side of
the ride the other couldn’t,
and then, breathless and hot,
Dwight and Julie cast
their arms to the air
laughing and praying as they spun
and undulated until they rose
to the highest peak,
and as they glanced
behind them, rising to the
Everest of their view,
they glimpsed
over their shoulders
and found no more space
to look back.