Best Balloon Poems
a balloon
canary yellow
the sun on her leash
AP: 1st place, Honorable Mention 2020, Honorable Mention 2020
Submitted on June 26, 2020 for contest STRAND COMPLETELY NEW POETRY (1) sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - HONORABLE MENTION
POTD - June 26, 2020
embraced by soft winds
white wisps trailing our balloon. . .
we’re touching heaven
For Mick Talbot's Haiku Contest
I am a balloon, happy and free
My friends and I brighten every party
Festival colors, waving animation
My life is all about the celebration
I wait in a corral as one by one
My friends all leave as the children come
I’m all alone now questioning why
Why has everyone passed me by
Are my colors not as bright as the rest
Up until now I thought I was the best
Oh wait, wait, here comes a little girl
All smiles and bows and cute blond curls
She’s taken my string and I’m filled with joy
We dance together she loves her new toy
I see some others lifting off to the sky
And just at that minute, I wonder why
Why can I not soar to the clouds
Flying high looking down on the crowds
Tethered to string that holds me down
My life’s too short to stay on the ground
With all of my might I pull at the knot
The little girl jumps but I can’t be caught
I look down and see her tears as they fall
The hurt in her eyes makes me feel very small
She rescued me there ... the last one left
She made me feel loved and I left her bereft
Regret overcomes me but I can’t go back
I’ve already set myself on this track
I sadly look skyward but my friends are gone
And suddenly I’m left again forlorn
Floating aimlessly on a journey I can’t stop
Before me a tree branch appears and then ... pop!
I gave you a balloon,
It held my life inside.
Within a shiny rubber tube
components of my soul aligned,
a sign,
I became something new
for you...
Memories
Feelings
Ideas
Each speck
a tickle upon my breath,
a tiny bubble
of nuanced personality;
The strengths of me debrided
the secrets of my lungs,
pink and untold
for you to confide,
ease trouble
in eyes before me.
Yet
were you astute?
Could your mind compute
the depth
of the beautiful find
floating before you?
You bent,
my unique particles ended
their show of strength
broken in length;
You twisted,
crushed and divided
my dreams subsided...
Molded to an unrecognizable form,
I became your norm.
Though you never knew,
my secret hope to survive
my own gift
thrive and lift,
lay within you.
Your grip thirsted control so long,
the pieces of me left burst
to skitter away in song
among soaring clouds,
leaving shrouds of pain
grounded and gone...
Flying far from the land
one beautiful day,
away
from you
and the broken balloon that laid
in your hand.
I’ve been missing you
Especially today
It’s your birthday
I’m going to our favorite place
Down by the lake
I bought a balloon for you
Of course it’s red
Your favorite color
Because you somehow believed it’s the pretties color
So here I am laying in the grass amongst flowering shrubs down by the lake
Holding your red balloon
Lost in thoughts of brokenness
Unaware of tears trickling down my face
I wanna scream your name
It hurts too deep
Darling hear me please
Although I don’t know how far heaven is
I’m sending up your red balloon
I’m sorry it’s smeared with blue tears
But it is filled with my love and our memories
So be ready to catch it darling
Your red balloon
Fin Chuuk
2/16/23
POTD 2/18/23
1st place in Balloon contest
Sponsor by: Anthony Biaanco
At any rate, a boy was holding a red balloon
Filled with helium, attached to a red ribbon.
Swirling and whirling without constraints
Having fun together they became fast friends,
Teasing the boy, balloon went way up high
Pulling away altogether seeking new heights,
Showing-off prowess, swaying random flight
Looking down to ensure, lad was all smiles,
Higher and higher the red dot danced
Getting swept away by a wicked day-storm.
And the little friend cried for he lost his toy
As no longer could he see it in distant sky,
But it swung back oscillating in a windy dive
When jumping with joy, the boy waved high-five.
One nasty commotion, one final good bye
As balloon burst to pieces in front of his eyes.
Happily, the lad received an identical red balloon
But unlike his friend, it refused to fly or bounce.
That's when the child noticed first time in his life
Difference between a friend and one who is not.
January 22, 2018
Poem of the day on 1/24/2018
HM: Brian's Choice 6 Contest by Brian Strand
Happiness is a bright balloon
On the ceiling of the living room.
Confined in space it can't go far,
A butterfly in a small glass jar.
I watch it bounce and bobble by,
Searching for a big blue sky.
It finds a corner and there it parks.
A puppy dog that lost his barks.
Saddened by this circumstance,
I seize the moment, take a chance.
And guide my friend outside the door.
It's good to see him dance once more!
For Francine-- "Happiness is a Balloon"
by Ray Dillard on 7-21-11
The little girl
set free the red balloon
it flew over a certain death
free from the pain
of auction
the little girl
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Dad can I have that big red balloon?
There's only one left, and he'll sell it soon
It's not like a goldfish, it won't have to be fed
or that pink candy floss, which sticks to my head
Dad can I have that big red balloon?
I won't ask for anything else 'till next June
Not even a ride on the ghost train today
A balloon would be better in every way
Dad can I have that big red balloon?
Don't want to fly in a ship to the moon
Dodging green men as we whizz on the way
I'd probably be sick for the rest of the day
Dad can I have that big red balloon?
Yes my boy, I'll buy you that balloon
I'm not a mean man I just wanted to know
that you really want it, come on let's go
Son here you go, a big red balloon
your hearts great desire fulfilled before noon
We've gone to the fair, we'll have such fun
With you and your balloon out in the sun
Dad, can I have some pink candy floss?
I caught myself this blue balloon
Flying adrift and among trees
Laughing I untied it from its string
And ran in happiness at top speed
The balloon unknowingly deflated
And hung limp from my fingers
Sadly I touched its shiny surface
Feeling a lump in its heart
As my fingers explored its very life
A tiny paper note it unveiled
And on it were the words of a little child
Asking her daddy to come back
As I sat on my bed at night
And looked out to the starry sky
My eyes closed and a prayer went up
For daddy to come to his waiting child
For daddy to come to his waiting child
20/07/2011
By Tahera Mannan
For Francine’s ‘Happiness is a balloon’ contest
Over by the corner the bandstand plays on
next to the cotton candy wagon and the clown
Its a circus act full of people and acrobats
and tallish men on walking wooden stilts
One tiny red balloon dots the sky as I espy
juggling acts leading to the garden path
it ain't over until the fat lady sings
so I better not dally, I need a glass ring
Fire eaters and sweet ladies that stretch
ventriloquists with two sided mouths
magicians that stage with props, and coins
cats on tight ropes, hawkers and escapists
Silver hoops and fast delivery guys
life is changing right before our very eyes
Give me the candy but don't tell me lies
of course I want the red balloon, untie!
February 12, 2023
Sponsor Anthony Biaanco
Contest Name Balloons
“Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.” Voltaire
In sapphire skies, so soft, serene and fair,
a balloon floats adrift in tepid air.
Nonchalant it hovers without a care.
Over and under clouds like they're not there.
It's mindful not to burn from the sun's glare.
keeping clear from branches, so not to tear.
At peace it seems, wandering unaware,
until a storm forms to cause it despair.
Gruesome gales force it to blow everywhere,
grim rain has no mercy for its welfare.
Breathless, it deflates into disrepair,
plunging, it no longer looks debonair.
The pursuit of life can become unfair,
just like the thickly sown thorns of Voltaire.
The red balloon of my childhood
chasing rainbows
the rush of ozone
hairspray
wait…
that’s my sister’s parade
big hair
I was nowhere near
with babies
early eighties
Oahu
oh to be a child in the wild
spray of the playful
sea, still
i felt like a child
riveted by waves
riding
the boogie board
not grown up enough
to surf
the burp of fantasy
precious buffet
of paradise
the red balloon loose
i chase its caboose
living
in its wake
10/22/2021
I'm making an observation
Bout the state of the world today
This is what I've come up with
In my own inimitable way
Maybe it's cuz I'm an old guy
It seems there's much more strife
There doesn't seem, like years ago
As much laughter in everyone's life
I know there'll always be conflict
Somewhere around the world
This nation or that one gets aggressive
Controversy begins to swirl
Then one country threatens the other
Military action follows soon
We're like a bunch of nasty children
Yelling, “Hey that's my balloon!”
Seems like there isn't a cure for this
But there's always hope I guess
That mankind will see the utter futility
And realize it doesn't make any sense!
In one grievous gasp
Slipping through a gaping hole
My heart took to the air
Bruised yet numb
With weightlessness
Like a runaway balloon
Without a string
Suspended in flight
Adrift at the whim
Of a carefree breeze
No rhyme or reason
Hovering as if to meet
The clouds or the moon
A freedom with no direction
Resigned to what will be
AP: 3rd place 2025
Submitted on August 31, 2018 for contest EARLY SEPT 2018 PREMIERE sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 1ST