Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE BALLOON MAN, by HOWARD MUMFORD JONES


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE BALLOON MAN, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Balloons like a a flock of colored birds, hovering over his
Last Line: Sky!
Subject(s): Balloons


Balloons like a a flock of colored birds, hovering over his wizened face,
Purple and gold and yellow birds, a bubbling glory against the sky,
And out of the nest of colors, shrill as the hunting horn of an elfin chase,
A whistle floats, and a little man in a derby hat goes shuffling by.
"Ballo-ons! Ballo-ons! Fi' cent ballo-ons!"
Colored like stars and round like moons!
The planets are only bright balloons, loose and drifting across the sky!

He holds the strings in his hands with the air of an incog lordling bored
with gold,
But the secret is that he's tied to them, and some day, lifted along a breeze,
We'll see him rise like a goblin man at the end of the threads he has to hold,
And kicking and whistling, dim to a point over the grinning roofs and the
trees!

"Ballo-ons! Ballo-ons! Fi' cent ballo-ons!"
He sings old magic and ancient tunes!
The sun is only a yellow balloon that swims and sails in the heat of the
sky!





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