The Balloon Poem by Laurence Overmire

round and red
ubiquitous orb
chained to a string
and streamers silver
hanging suspended
cl
ing
ing
ten
uously
to
the tenement wire
stuck in indignity
on a broken stoop
lost and forsaken
unable to rise
helium ballasted
with weary time
no fluttering wind
to carry it home
its final gasp
here
tells of happier days
fanfare and circumstance
an open sky blue
and a child's loving hand
now bereft and

alone.

~ Laurence Overmire

(Previously published in New York Minute: An Actor's Memoir, Indelible Mark Publishing,2017)