Tube Sliding

By: Shirley Lovell

In foolishness and innocence
I climb the snowy hill,
Dragging up an inner tube
Seeking out a thrill.

It looks like fun and seems quite tame,
So on the tube I flop.
I shift my ballast back and forth
Then carefully let it drop

I'm squeezed into the rubber ring
Like hand in shrunken glove.
I cannot move. I cannot budge.
I give a helping shove.

Then suddenly I'm flying.
I've past the speed of light.
My heart is filled with terror.
I'm hanging on in fright.

"I'll never see another day."
This thought goes through my mind.
And things are whizzing by so fast
I might as well be blind.

I utterly have no control
There is nothing I can do.
And so I try to just relax.
With luck I may pull through.