Red Balloons


I whispered my secret into the big red balloon
And it told me of silver fish, swimming upstream in dark waters
It showed me to the place where the moonchild sang and danced
A land illuminated, not my own
It took my hand and said to me, “Walk slowly through the night.”

And after my first encounter
All the rest were different
I saw the red balloon in everything I did
Everything I came across, whispered to me
And told me of places unlike my own

I became transfixed with stories
Where shadows overcame the light
And darkness did not represent evil
Instead replaced with the knowledge
That can only be told when clouds hang above
And their rain drips
Over red balloons

I realized my place and how to change it
And as I sat filling in bubbles
I dared to slip outside the lines
The teacher stared
As I tried to teach her that these 2D balloons mean nothing to me


And that red balloons can’t be found on paper
She laughed

I told her of black Christmas bulbs
And of navy blue sunflowers
She looked at me differently when I started to describe
The devil’s rainbow
I thought I had her
But she couldn’t understand it
So she sent me away

Time passed and I was occupied by the clock
Ticking onto a new day
So slowly through the darkness
The fact that night was with me,
Was what kept me
It was comfortable,
So I said my secret again
Then suddenly,
All was red
And the walls began to speak to me
They told me, “Walk slowly through the night.”