Ian Willey

Rotor Bob

When I heard the park had closed down
the first thing that popped into my mind
was Rotor Bob, that big guy in a Star Wars t-shirt
who’d ride that ride all day, every day,
all summer long, spinning round and round
in that dark space with the same blank expression
even when the floor snaps down
and girls start squealing and the only thing
keeping us from tumbling into the void
is centripetal force, the same thing
that stops the moon from flying off
in a straight line and off to a galaxy
far, far away.

Ian Willey is a teacher who spends a lot of time writing things.