“Ascendency”

Rising up.

Coffin of steel and wire.

Ding!

Defying gravity,

A towering terror spire.

Ding!

Bodies congested.

The weight limit reached.

Ding!

One rider steps off.

Equilibrium achieved.

Ding!

Penthouse gained.

One percent golden living.

Ding!

Called back to the lobby,

For next rising mission.

Ding!

So much anxiety,

With each passing ding.

Ding!

Next time take the stairs,

Instead of dying.

A very special thanks to Elevator Eva, all dinged up.

40/40: Summer Poem Slam-a-bam is a project in which people have joined me for 40 days and 40 nights of on-demand poetry. They have submitted the concepts, ideas, and subjects; I’ve done the work.