Spinning Tops

What do you do with a spinning top?
You set them spinning and watch them stop.
Or else you catch them before they fall,
So that they’ll never stop at all.

With friends and lovers, that’s what we do;
We set them spinning, they spin us too.

I love my tops, I love them all.
I want them spun to never fall.
I want to spin them, spin them fast.
I want to have their spinning last.

With careful hands and but a little knowing,
A cautious soul can always keep one going.
But once I start and watch one’s spinning style
I seek to start another one in just a little while.

I spin it just as lovingly as those I’ve spun before;
Then, while the bunch is spinning, I try to add one more.
And when they bump, I only wish that I were truly able
To stop their hurtful, topsy-turvy spinning off my table.

Ned Buratovich
1972 ~ 1974