My Balloon Life

Balloon existence

I shape
the space around me
like a balloon being blown up
I push out the sides of my existence
I press up against these walls
testing the elasticity
of all around me
to hold–
YES! Resisting
the inevitability
of deflation.

Inverted balloon existence

Shaped into the space around me
latex glove
Who is putting me on their hand?
Whose fingers am I doing the dirty work for?
Stretched and pulled
made to fit
into the spaces–
Deflation? No.
Rubber bands lose their elasticity
and balloons pop.

© Copyright 2006 K. M. Camper