In our front room with world raging just outside,

the string is wrapped just so

With a flick of my wrist the spinning top

races to the end of its tether

Spinning there, waiting for a command

– Walk the Dog, Rock the Baby,

maybe Around the World - look out furniture!

Years of casual practice work to master

my limited repertoire with the rapidly turning top

Its blur of motion and mostly predictable behavior

keeps my sometimes-misplaced sense of wonder

intact after all these years