BALLOONS

Three balloons are tied to a country mailbox,
Ribbons blue and white and pink to go
With matching globes. The party was days ago,
But I can see them bobbing like shuttlecocks,

Leaping to greet the excited toddling guests.
Today the ribbons go, not up, but down
The balloons are limp and crinkled, greeting no one,
Detumescent skins, a manifest

Emptiness, a birthday decoration
Someone forgot to remove, before the rising
Helium seeped its way to vaporizing
And joining the sky again in liberation.

We celebrate another year’s completion:
Balloons reprise our fullness and depletion.

(125, September 1, 1993)

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