Monday, September 22, 2008

Defying Gravity

 

Oh, wouldn't it be great to be able to rise above the everyday problems that continue to plague us?

I thought about that.

I thought about literally rising above them, sailing off as carefree as a bird ... or more like a big red balloon which had just gained its freedom.

Of course, I came back to earth, to the reality that things would still bug me, but I felt better able to cope.

How's that for a bit of therapy ... at least in the realm of things which, in the long view of things, aren't all that important?

Maybe if I practice on the little things I will be better able to rise above the larger, more serious hurdles which lie ahead.

It's a thought, anyway. Now the poem:

 

DEFYING GRAVITY

With practice, I fully expect

someday to defy the gravity

of situations that bug me now.

 

A promise broken beyond repair,

an umbrella gone inside-out,

the spilled beans of some urgent

secret, the hole in my sock,

a lost mitten, broken shoelace,

a bookmark gone astray,

my coffee cup gone stone cold,

things I’ve forgotten,

crawling out, feeling old.

 

I see myself like a giant

red balloon, rising easily

above them all. And dont you

dare grab the string.

© 2002

(originally published in Potpourri)


                             ***

Today's word: balloon

Afterthoughts ... in response to your comments:

Thank you, Helen. I'm glad you liked the poem. I had a lot of fun with this one ... and the string? That just came to me out of the blue, so I just tacked ... er, tied ... it on.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved your picture of rising above it all, floating on a big red balloon.  Clever twist at the end.  

Anonymous said...

Now a cup of coffee gone cold is a very important thing!  Just kidding :)  I love the part you write about not grabbing the string!  This is a very nice poem and commentary to read after a hard day.  I will go to sleep, thinking of that balloon...