Sucks all the helium he can

to escape the blood hound on his tail

for petty thievery & having too much fun.

His lips sealed to the nozzle,

his ears inflate like dinner plates,

his neck grows into a cushy cushion.

He's rivaling a walrus on his way to whale,

but can't hold any more as the barking closes in.

He quits his nozzle kiss to float free

of the balloon booth up above the carnival

of corny music, popcorn air, & clowns juggling

flaming batons, the one thing to avoid. He waves

to smooching couples on the Ferris Wheel, farts

like a booster rocket, picks the brightest star

to romance for the night, but already knows

he'll never make it, his pockets too laden

with necklaces & bottles of French perfume,

his petty greed slowly but steadily guaranteeing

that by night's end he'll crash land into a tree,

deflated & crucified in the high branches,

a missing person left pleading & praying

for the blood hound to find him again. 

Let us pluck bright futures

from millionaires' caravans &

load wagons with cherry petals

for the blind orphan's wedding.

Let us dance to haywire clocks &

bake pecan pies for the next revolution.

Let us join angels in group hugs

& wish the albatross a safe journey.

Let us heal the broken horizon

before we run out of poems.