THIS IS YOUR ONE AND ONLY
by cate lycurgus
I spent my best years on a merry-go-round:
around it a blur; by it, the arm with a brass ring;
on it, sleek stallions lifting & lowering—no telling
where I’d end up, but—knowing what comes around
goes. When I wanted off, I steeled myself
for the lion’s roar, tossed all I had
toward his mouth, eased to complaining boards.
Which spooked the horses & though I’d chafed
at frozen manes, mid-air gaits, though my heart might
learn to race to another music, what
skewers will hold you in place
Cate Lycurgus’s poetry has appeared in Best American Poetry 2020, American Poetry Review, Tin House, Best New Poets 2019, and elsewhere. Cate lives south of San Francisco, California, where she interviews for 32 Poems and teaches writing. You can find her at www.catelycurgus.com