the top

It's like when you're spinning a top,

maybe the kind that has the marker on the tip and draws spirals,

(I think that's the only kind of top I've ever spun),

and you sit and watch it spin round

and round

and round,

faster

and faster

and faster,

but then it begins to slow and wobble,

and you can almost hear it shouting,

wobble! wobble! wob-ble! louder and louder,

and you lean in closer to wait for that exact moment you're fearing,

and then all at once

it falls to its side in exhaustion,

sputtering once or twice,

until it completely stops,

and everyone sighs,

and shakes their heads, saying

too bad.