Grill smoke kisses vinyl booth seams
Ticket spike holds a bent postcard scene
Ferris wheel frozen in October rust
Cotton candy machine gathers dust
Ketchup bottles sweat on Formica tops
Pie case light flickers, never stops
Regulars know the order by heart
Autumn wind tears the midway apart
Postcard watches the park go dark
Salt air eats the roller coaster arc
No scream lines cut the crisp night air
Just grease and gears and a cook's steady stare
Tilt-A-Whirl cars lean like drunk uncles
Ticket booth glass cracked from stray knuckles
Popcorn kettle cold since Labor Day
Carousel horses turned gray to gray
Coffee rings stain the laminated map
Diners trade jokes in a sudden trap
Clock radio crackles a Braves game score
Wind whistles through the chain-link door
Postcard watches the park go dark
Salt air eats the roller coaster arc
No scream lines cut the crisp night air
Just grease and gears and a cook's steady stare
Short-order shorthand flies off the tongue
Hash browns scattered, eggs overdone
Postcard corner curled from grill heat
Wooden coaster groans in the back street
Postcard watches the park go dark
Salt air eats the roller coaster arc
No scream lines cut the crisp night air
Just grease and gears and a cook's steady stare
Neon arrow points to empty lot
Where bumper cars sit in a tangled knot
Postcard stamp faded to sepia tone
Ferris wheel seats spun bare bone
Postcard watches the park go dark
Salt air eats the roller coaster arc
No scream lines cut the crisp night air
Just grease and gears and a cook's steady stare
Dawn breaks over the fryer's glow
Postcard tucked where the regulars know
Season ends but the grill stays hot
Memory serves what the park forgot
Postcard watches the park go dark
Salt air eats the roller coaster arc
No scream lines cut the crisp night air
Just grease and gears and a cook's steady stare
Postcard watches the park go dark
Salt air eats the roller coaster arc
No scream lines cut the crisp night air
Just grease and gears and a cook's steady stare
Coffee steam curls through fluorescent hum
Postcard holds what the season become
