Admission is a Promise, the Exit is a Lie

You can pay for the Ferris wheel
with a smoothed coin,
burned with an icon
of a stingray on fire.

Hold on to me, watch downtown
before us like a dried-out Atlantis
strung with Christmas lights,
our feet resting on the floor of a cage.

Every wall holds a shock,
every breath will exhale lightning.

I’ve told you this before,
I promise, and promises
don’t arrive lightly,

and you’ve told me this before,
but you don’t have to promise,
I believe you.

The carnival lifts us higher, but
I can tattoo your secrets
on the back of the moon
any time you like, just say the word. I’ve told you this before,
I promise, and I will tell you
any time you ask.

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