Becoming a Balloon
©May 12th, 2015
By Vijaya Sundaram
Detaching from something is a curious sensation,
Sad and joyful, exhilarating, downcasting.
Liberation can be scary. Who wants to be free?
Is this why so many of us choose our own brand of slavery?
Better to be attached to something, anything, than to float away, unmourned, forgotten.
Is that it?
I would like to be a balloon.
Yes, a balloon is what I want to be
I want to fill with something lighter than air,
A thin membrane separating me from
Complete dissipation.
And, bringing joy to a child’s life, or an adult’s,
I will let myself be held lightly by a hand or two.
And then, let the winds tug at me,
Snap me loose from the hands that hold me,
And float away, so quietly, so softly,
I won’t hurt any bird, I promise,
Nor trouble any airplane’s engines.
Just float away, that’s what I’d like to do,
Until I reach the moon, or become one.