Poem of the Day: “amusement park thrills” by John Reinhart, Frequent Contributor and Poet of the Week

Songs of Eretz Poetry Review is pleased to present “amusement park thrills” by John Reinhart, a Songs of Eretz Frequent Contributor and this week’s Poet of the Week.  Mr. Reinhart’s biography may be found in the “About Our Editor & Frequent Contributors” section.

amusement park thrills

John Reinhart

true to form,

even in the bathroom

Opal wants to try every ride –

I never imagined

I would one day hold my daughter

while she peed in a urinal

Poet’s Notes:  Every summer we venture to Lakeside Amusement Park a century-old neon lit park with a wooden roller coaster, dilapidated grounds, and the best mix possible of folks looking for a budget alternative to Elitch's Amusement Park downtown, the hip overflow from the neighboring gentifried neighborhoods, and folks like us, there for free on library summer reading passes. My three children are still mostly too young to enjoy even the kiddie land rides, so we ride the train and the carousel again and again and again. I have long joked that my favorite ride is the urinal, especially the one in the bathroom that has a new under construction sign every year.