She woke up on the carousel

Colors faded, face shaded

The wind bladed across her cheek

As sun gave way to dark.

Night came, she dreamt

With eyes open, took in the sun

The possibilities she neither saw nor felt

But knew existed

She saw a place at the edge of the tracks

Where the trains sped backwards

So she rode it to the start

A whirlwind of faces, places, waiting to be forgotten

The train stopped

At a waiting place

Where she stood and waited for someone to tell her

As they always had

But silence numbed her toes

So she tried to walk home

Until she collapsed by the curb

And breathed in the dawn

Tomorrow came, yesterday passed

Without either mercy or regret

And she picked up herself

To walk back down the road

She came to a carousel

On the edge of the sea

Dark waters lapping at the shore

She leaned against the mirror

Until sleep took her once more.