The Merry-Go-Round
The machine is ready to start. The symbolic beasts
grow resty, curvetting where they stand at their places
in the great blue circle of the year. The Showman's voice
rings out. 'Montez, mesdames et messieurs, montez. You,
sir, must bestride the Ram. You will take the Scorpion.
Yours, madame, is the Goat. As for you there, blackguard
boy, you must be content with the Fishes. I have allotted
you the Virgin, mademoiselle.' . . . 'Polisson !' 'Pardon,
pardon. Evidemment, c'est le Sagittaire qu'on demande.
Ohé, les dards! The rest must take what comes. The
Twins shall counterpoise one another in the Scales. So, so.
Now away we go, away.'
[...]
Aldous Huxley's poem "The Merry-Go-Round" was published in the 1918 "cycle" of Wheels. The poem can be read it in its entirety in digitized versions of this publication by following the links below:
The Modernist Journals Project