Second Looks

Little red balloon girl,
always hovering just so,
far from the ground but further from heaven,
always getting caught in tree tops,
while aiming for the sky.

The winds they blow, she bounces around and comes back down, and gets caught in someone's tiny hand for a time. But only for a time. Because the grasp will always lapse. And it did. And off she goes again, wondering why she can't be tied down, why can't somebody tie her down...
please don't anybody tie her down.

She's the little red balloon girl in red coats and red scarves, wishing for everything while hoping for nothing, enjoying the view from above while envying all events below.

They tell her one day she'll meet a solid rock, and they will fall in "love" and he'll tie her apronstring to a shiny rock, "so you can still float, just never have to worry about getting lost".

But the days come and go and he never shows and she's at it again. The winds are awake and they don't let her sleep in.

Little red balloon girl just flew past my window and waved. I can't tell if she is smiling or crying. So I just wave and point her to the nearest park bench.

photograph by sir james.



*this post brought to you by a game temporarily entitled "give and take". My extremely talented photo friend James and I have decided to stretch our creative muscles together with image/text text/image challenges. The way it works is that we each send a piece or a shot that we want the other to capture via story or picture. Upon receiving the file we have approximately 2 weeks (excuse me, EXACTLY 2 weeks) to complete the project and post the merged creation. For example, I sent this blurb to James about a week ago with instructions to "find her". True to writer-ly form, I am taking all the time I can to complete my photo story assignment...merely because I am procrastinating...true to writer-ly form....

Look for more of these exercises in the months to come!