Letting Go of the Red Balloon

He lies on his back
With the grass in his hair
And he toys with the string
And the pull upward
The slight tug on his hand
As the wind kicks up
Gusting air beneath him

The air has salt in it
It has blue salt and red time
And it cuts his lips
Then heals them over
Before he can feel the hurt

The red balloon paces above his head
Waiting to be brought back
Or released

Whichever

The red balloon doesn't care what he does
It just wants to know
One way or another

He tries to trace the outline of it
As it darts to five different places
Within the five inches
He's allowed it to travel

He asks the balloon to come back
Before he's even let it go
He knows it's going to go
He's accepted that
And so he keeps asking it to stay
While it's still lingering above him

He doesn't consider just hanging onto it
He knows what he has to do
It's a balloon
It has to be in the sky
All balloons wind up in the sky
Or deflated

And once the air is gone
It's not a balloon
It's just rubber
And disappointment

The wind picks up a little more
And now even he feels the tug
The sky wants the balloon
Who is he to keep it?

So he releases

It climbs up so fast
Before long it's nearly out of sight
Out in the distance
Lightning hits the surface of the lake
And the flash illuminates
What looks like a city
Built on the water

Tonight is Japanese movie night
With Mari and Anyl
Complete with butterscotch nickels
And rum raisin ice cream

It was the last time they'd be doing this
Before Anyl hops to Scotland
And Mari goes to Maine

He gets up and dusts himself off

And it's funny

He can still feel the string
Touching his fingertips
As it passed him by