On the back of the beast the young boy climbs
to terrifying heights, then plunges down
in a spiraling dive, his stomach drops,
screams of terror and exhilaration
escape from his lungs and evaporate,
lost in air left behind, onward he goes,
rushing into new winds that sting his eyes
and break against arms raised to touch the sky.
Then jerk, stutter, and stop – the bar lifts up.
He hears, “Please exit the ride to your left.”
He scrambles out and runs wobbly legged
to wait again at the end of the line.
Author's Note: Apologies for the abnormal abundance of published pieces! Getting close to my 100th story and hoping to celebrate it with a launch of a challenge on November 1st. The Sky-kus reminded me of some sky related pieces I had sitting around. I thought about adapting them in some way for the challenge, but decided to keep them in their current state!
About the Creator
D.K. Shepard
Character Crafter, Witty Banter Enthusiast, World Builder, Unpublished novelist...for now
Fantasy is where I thrive, but I like to experiment with genres for my short stories. Currently employed as a teacher in Louisville.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insight
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
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Comments (13)
This vividly captures the experience of riding roller coasters… I love it, and them😍✅.
Oh love this and well done on your forthcoming achievement - said that already - but, it's exciting and so is your challenge. Love the idea of rollercoaster being like a wild dragon and like Joe said - it sounds like a nightmare until the end when your MC wants to go again. Love it! Also, like Donna, appreciate the influx of DK material to come home too!
I like how it doesn't seem like a positive experience throughout, and then he runs back for another go! Childlike energy is so pure:) A steel dragon haha.
Love the comparison to riding a dragon!
No need to apologize for the amount of published pieces!! I love it DK!! Thew imagery and sensory elements in this one are damn good!! Great work!
Oh, I definitely felt that stomach-dropping sensation of a roller coaster (or dragon ride) with this! Marvelous job and soo much fun!
I love how the initial exhilaration butts up against reality in the final lines. It’s tough to top the imagining of a child!
Hehehehe that was a fun ride! Looking forward to your challenge!
This was such a fun poem. Great ride!
This was magical - I thought he really was riding a dragon then, but I loved your ending even more. Brill.
Weeeee that was fun.
I could feel the acceleration and vibration of the ride! Loved this one, D,K! BTW, I can't imagine anyone being put off by the abundance.
Incredible poem! You really capture the exhilaration of such a ride!