The curled colored ribbons tugged taught in my hand
the rubber bulbs yearning for ever greater heights.
It was my childish desire to hold them to the ground
for they were my prize, my desire, and my pride.
Among all the spectacle of the area, the lights and the toys
I wanted the balloons, of boldest blue and radiant red.
I did not know why they wanted to escape
but their desire to made them all the more enticing.
They defied what I understood then to be unquestionable.
Stuff goes down, not up.
So what business did these dyed lumps have hanging in the air?
I did not know, save that I wanted some for my own.
Begging and pleading to my parents, promises, bargains
negotiation and persuasion.
"They're only two quarters each, that's not hard!"
I had some grasp of the value of coin, though only in small portion.
Eventually I won out
and I had two levitating companions following me about.
They bobbed above the stalls, the racks, the shelves
as we meandered around the area.
I did not know what was so important
that we had to be here so long.
I had other objectives of a more innocent and basic nature
holes to dig, bugs to find, cars to push.
But the expedition was not fruitless
for I had earned the mysterious.
And I was then determined to understand.
Upon returning home, I leaped from my seat
tossing the fastener aside, the limiting strap impeding my work.
With the strange pouches hovering a foot or two above my head
I dashed to the yard.
Some tugs on the strands, the lifelines as I saw
caused the enigmas to bounce and sway.
My own forces caused them to lower immediately
but they still strove for greater heights.
The only conclusion was to observe
how they behaved without limit.
And so I released, my young sweaty hands opening
relinquishing my grasp upon the tethers of these peculiarities.
Onward and upward they rose
and I tried to reach to bring them back down.
Too late. Beyond my short reach.
I craned my neck to watch them drift ever higher
so high they were lost among the clouds.
Radiant blue and boldest red no longer visible
two swirling dark points shrank out of view.
I now understand the logic, the reasons, the science
but that afternoon I understood something greater.
The limitless wonder of the simple astoundments.
Written September 9th, 2013
