3 deflated

his brow furrowed when he saw my dress
he scratched his head
when he caught sight of my bubblegum pink shoes
finally he looked at me
with his question plainly visible in his facial expression
I shrugged my shoulders
at loss for how to explain
but he read the expression as well as the ones
he made a living off of
strange
how sometimes he seemed to know me
better than I knew myself
I don't wear dresses
I don't care much at all for bright colors
but today
I woke feeling blue
and thought these things might lift me up
his expression
went from puzzled
to pondering
to inspiration
he drew a yellow balloon
from his pocket and began to blow
with each breath
he seemed more and more drained
as he tied the final knot
then wrapped it with a matching string
I marveled at how the balloon rose from his hand
now I was the one who stood puzzled
as he offered me his mysterious gift
his expression willed me to take the yellow floating bubble
but the moment the yellow string touched my hand
the ballon began to fall
the treasure he had given me
seemed quite intent on matching my mood
not until it finally touched ground did I realize
I
no longer did
after a moment of shock I looked at him
his big goofy grin looked up at me
and I found myself smiling
he held out his hand
I took it
oh what a sight we must be
for away we walked
me with my deflated balloon
and he with my colorful floating self

---

Photo by Lauren Randolph

her friend is a mime...i don't exactly say that in so many words...i had intended on mentioning it...but somehow it never came up...maybe i'll work it in...maybe i'll let it stand as a mystery.


inspiration for today's poem came from One Stop Poetry's One Shoot Sunday [interview with Lauren Randolph].