Vertigo
Plates on the end of a pole.
Bathtub eddies.
Vinyl records.
Tornadoes.
These are all things that spin.
The ballerina spins
tightly timed turns
and at a precise point
in the arc, her head
turns too. Snaps
around.
Oh to be that head.
You wake up
to find
that you’re
an undiscovered
solar system
traveling
through
the galaxy
at light speed.
Your room orbits
around you
as you
rotate
on your own
axis.
How many times
can you
orbit yourself?
They say
in Australia,
the spins
come in counter
to the clockwise
in your
hemisphere.
You awaken
with a circus
performing
in your head.
Your brain is
a Tilt-a-Whirl,
your eyes
fun house mirrors
while the floor is
a moon bounce
in the dark.
Nothing
steadies
you.
It doesn’t help
that you are
a natural blond.
Now you are a dizzy one too.
© 2014 Susan Scheid
Susan Scheid lives in Washington, DC with her three cats, two children and one husband. She has published one book of poetry, After Enchantment (which is available on Amazon). Susan’s poetry has appeared in several journals and she is a contributor to Foreign Policy in Focus. Susan is on the Board of Directors for Split This Rock. She eagerly looks forward to this fall when both her children will be in college and she can write poetry in all her spare time.
