He gave me a balloon
A red one for valentine’s day
The first of many
For every day it seemed
He added a new one to my collection
A new color to represent every hour
Every time we held hands
Every stolen glance
Every little argument we had
The balloons were aloof signs of his affection
To show he was there even when I was alone
A constant reminder of his feelings
But the balloons stopped coming
Slowly at first
Then to a grinding halt
The ones already in my possession
Didn’t seem to reach so high
Drifting idly by
The red balloon sank lower
Until the final color hit the ground
He gave me a balloon
But perhaps
I should have given him one too
Red Balloon
Charlotte Ciampa, 2019
20