Calliope Horse

Calliope Horse
by denny

He sits astride a gaily-painted
calliope horse, going round
and round in endless circles
with each new place being
somewhere he has already been.

Big city cowboy,
riding the range
in the neighborhood Mall,
fancy boots and shiny buckle,
romantic dreams that never existed.
Weathered briefcase for a saddlebag

full of wasted ambition and
forgotten ideals.

Riding a desk, 9 to 5 while
pretending to be "meaningful".
staring blankly out the window, westward
at the distant hills, pretending
to be something he can never be.

Like a child playing in a sandbox
with plastic cowboys, while singing
an old familiar tune, that repeats
endlessly in his head.
droning over and over in
endless repetition.