Author Notes
I love to watch hot-air balloons in flight. They are colorful and amazing. When I used to live on Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs, there was an annual event that had dozens of them fly right by my house. What a scene!
This poem is a Calligram.
A poetic Calligram creates a form from the very words of the stanzas.
I apologize that it came out bleary, when posted on the site.
Because it is hard to read, I will spell out its design here.
The gather circle at the top reads:
At the top
winds never stop.
The four long lines that circle the balloon are each actually an abab rhymed quatrain. The four read from left to right:
All tightened up, these outer cords,
that hold the pressured cloth at bay,
providing tension to it all,
so we may float along the way.
While all around the netted weave,
The pressure billows canvas out,
From steam the heated atoms leave,
To push this platform all about.
When pilot turns the valve of fire,
The air that fills the cavity,
Balloon takes you where you desire,
Once loosed from bonds of gravity.
A glowing colored bubble in the air,
Drifts smoothly up among the fluffy clouds.
It looks completely awesome floating there,
Its shining sight will draw some seeking crowds.
The bottom ring reads:
The heat released from dragon's jaw,
is sucked right through its gaping maw.
The four ropes to the basket create an aabb rhymed quatrain, where each line is one rope, reads:
Held with these ties that bind.
The best that man can find.
The ropes keep holding fast,
With tensile strength that lasts.
The basket has an abab rhymed quatrain that reads:
Even as the air is weighted down,
My spirit is lifted high.
By steam within a colored canvas gown,
As heat pushes us up to the sky.
Now for the designs.
The diamond reads:
On
The wind
To drift and sail
Among the sallow clouds
Balloon leaves not print nor trail
While floating on the breeze above the trees
With colored canvas in tight tether
It's as light as downy feather
With a wicker bin
Just right to
Travel
In
The top design is a mono-stitch that reads:
Flying high in my beautiful hot air balloon. Bye-bye.
The bottom design is a mono-stitch that reads:
On the go with hot air flow.
Under the basket is a 5-7-5 Poem that reads:
We who want to fly
reach to touch the clouds on high
drifting right nearby
I hope you enjoyed this complex poem.
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