I’m in Love with the Carnie Girl
by Ben Hyland
Runner Up in the 2026 Poetry Life Contest
She tasted like an East Coast highway.
After all, she forfeited her entire closet
to find out how little she could live with.
All the Tilt-A-Whirl in the world, free.
She bottle-fed tiger cubs, captained an elephant,
controlled the snake tent, of course – Henry’s thick,
pale-yellow body wrapped around her breasts
like a lover in the middle of a dream. Step on up!
Five dollars, two shots at the High Striker!
Take a swing, make it ring! My bell is hot –
it’s been ringin’ all day! She burped,
smoked pot, got a new tattoo.
You don’t call the cops in this world –
advice she gave me after we kissed,
tight black miniskirt, fedora,
a curtain lifts, the ride shifts.
Charred-black hotdogs, Pepsi like breastmilk.
I called her when August gave way,
Amtrak rolling toward a Georgia November.
I almost asked her, and she answered:
Life in between is –
her soul strapped in, spinning,
and she gripped the harness –
Life is… So, how you been?
Ben Hyland’s poetry is collected in four chapbooks – most recently, Shelter in Place (Moonstone Press, 2022) – and has been featured in multiple journals, including Beloit Poetry Journal, Columbia Review, and Comstock Review. As a career coach, Ben has helped hundreds of jobseekers find employment, even throughout the pandemic. Readers can connect with him and follow his work at www.benhylandlives.com.