Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, FROM A BALLOON, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FROM A BALLOON, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Ho! We are loose. Hear how they shout
Last Line: That stares into eternity.
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Balloons; Earth; Future Life; Life; World; Retribution; Eternity; After Life


HO! we are loose. Hear how they shout,
And how their clamor dwindles out
Beneath us to the merest hum
Of earthly acclamation. Come,
Lean with me here and look below --
Why, bless you, man! don't tremble so!
There is no need of fear up here --
Not higher than the buzzard swings
About upon the atmosphere
With drowsy eyes and open wings!
There, steady, now, and feast your eyes; --
See, we are tranced -- we do not rise;
It is the earth that sinks from us:
But when I first beheld it thus,
And felt the breezes downward flow,
And heard all noises fail and die,
Until but silence and the sky
Above, around me, and below, --
Why, like you now, I swooned almost,
With mingled awe and fear and glee --
As giddy as an hour-old ghost
That stares into eternity.





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