Have you ever written a poem about a spinning top?

Thank YOU...your title jogged my mind,

......It`s called a gyroscope.......

Not like those I had as a girl

with foil pinned on to gaily whirl

and whip I did with whipper-will

(I`ll bet we`d LOVE to do this, still!).

Chalked-on circles whizz whip whizz

admiration filled with fizz

Drawing-Pins to add to gleam -

the finest game you`ve ever seen

Beats video-games - Cream Of The Crop

is the painted dance of The Spinning Top!

(Dedicated to Beth who knew I`d write this :D...).

I`m wondering if the U.S. had the `wooden top & whip` craze,

of concern to adults as a wrong spin

could send a top Crash..through a window..

TOPOGRAPHY

Tops begin twirling with a finger and a spin

They can whirl with a whip or a plunger, or a string

As they skip down the walk there are types that will talk

But if you start them just right they'll stay inside your chalk

They balance on bottoms yet these things are tops

Should they hit the rough spots the spinning---just stops

They're curious circlers--- a sight to behold

Often spun by the young--yet tops--- are quite old.

Copyright 12/27/2012 William Weitzel. All Rights Reserved. Use With Permission

Yep, I sure have.

The Top

Why the fascination I'll never know

but nevertheless we spun the thing

just to see it crackle and spit and glow

and it would hum for awhile, then outright sing.

Were we so lacking of entertainment?

pitiful by today's scope of things if true,

but at least we shared, we cared, we laughed

and all took turns at spinning to see what it could do.

Each new toy and gadget was adventure you see

something new to explore, share with our 'buddies'

our 'group', 'our gang', 'our neighborhood';

none dared beyond the things our parents said we could.

The top, the gyroscope, the pogo stick,

the skates, a single wagon, one ball and glove

all shared treasures in a shared childhood

and testament to our love.

No I haven't written about a spinning top but I do remember what fun I had playing with mine. Loved the bright colours and the humming sound it made as it gyrated around on the floor. Ah nostalgia, isn't it a wonderful thing!.

No. But I did sell quite a few different kinds when I used to

have a little book and gift shop in my neighborhood. I had the

classic little wooden ones you'd wind with a string and then

fling at your friends feet when we were kids to make them

scream, jump and tap dance on the smooth black tar

where they worked 2nd best...

um unless you were willing to go for a cracked skull by your

mama should you risk flinging it at your little brothers naked

toes on the shiny waxed wooden floor (where they worked even

better, though painfully so if you got caught haha).

And then there were those really funky beautifully painted metal

ones from Germany that would light up and hum or play music

after you pump them and are mesmerized by a little kinetic

light show but are very rare now.

And of course there is always this one I am sure many of us

will never forget.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Obulflse6Pk

I may spin it, spin

again and again

till I drill the cement,

and what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight,

and since needles grow duller

from contact with earth,

next to nothing for color.

Next to nothing for use,

but a top is a top,

and who's to say where

the madness shall stop?

There was a top that spun

and had offered all things fun.

By many it was adored

and even its entertainment adults implored.

But there came the plastic toys

beloved by all the girls and boys.

They thought lowly of the top

who'd made sure their boredom was stopped,

But I still watch the top who's spun by the hands above

The top who's spun a billion years and kept by endless love.

Not until now, but here is a little homage to the thought:

---

Worlds parade beneath my feet

Waltzing, weaving, winking where I walk.

I see that I am just so small

encased within this spinning ball.

While not as much a poet as many here, I enjoy it when I see a challenge, and no I haven't but would like to try now.

When we were young we had a spinner, I guess it was a top

with a plunger that wound it,

and it would jingle until it flopped.

We would try to imitate by twirling,

stepping out of its way as it spun,

never a second thought to spinning

until so dizzy we would end, bottom on top

falling as did our spinner

when it's jangling finally came to a stop

No but I used to love to watch the colors go round and the way it felt when I pushed the plunger down. It didn't make me dizzy, not sure what to blame that on - lol.