helium balloons

i’m a child clutching a handful of strings.

my tiny hands struggle to grasp them all at once,

refusing to let a single one go.

i had been adding to my collection of helium balloons

for as long as i could remember

and i couldn’t bear to lose one now.

at this age i realise that

one day, i might just lose grip of them all,

sit and watch as they float out of my reach.

or i could continue to gather my precious balloons,

go on like this until my feet come off the ground. that sounds like fun.

but like most children, i’m never quite sure, at any given time,

of whether i should stay on the ground or reach for the sky.