“The Red Balloon” by Ana Richters

At the beach one afternoon
A child bought a red balloon.
He held it tightly in his hand
As he trod along the sand.
The balloon stared down in dismay
And tried to tug and twist away,
But stuck it was and had to stay,
Until the child’s sticky hand
Reached for a treat from the ice cream stand.
Then up soared it soared into the sky-
An expanse of blue with one red eye;
It’s string waving an exuberant good-bye.
The balloon cried, “Look at me!
Oh, how marvelous to be free!”
Higher it flew till it reached the sun,
Whose rays stung like bullets from a gun,
But the balloon only smiled and said,
“I do not fear being dead,
And your price I will gladly pay
For this brief moment of joy I’ve had today.”