I saw you drifting in a bright blue sky
A green beacon amidst calm waters
You beckon to me as you ascend
I reach and stretch to no avail
Your soft edges playfully hanging aloft
By any other I would have crumbled
Left with head hung low
But I fell victim
To your charm and levity
With impulsive force
I climed buildings and cliffs
Long lost ladders caked in rust
They creak as I chase you
At last I reach the apex
Where you’re in arms reach
I leap
My fingers brush against your form
They are met with the harsh truth
Your skin was not soft and warm
Rather, elastic and synthetic
Inside you were vacuous, save for lies
As I grip you we both begin to descend
Fate’s talons waiting for us both
So I let go
Let you drift away
Facing the pain I have sown
As I watch your colorful form
Fading into the clouds
Your vibrancy is lost
And thus is your substance
The lesson paid for
Is to know that hollow balloons
Are all best left to,
and eventually lost by,
children
-Galwyn