Rebecca van den Ham's poem, "The Balloon Lady," is in Short Circuit #03, Short Édition's quarterly review. Rebecca writes for children and teens. She loves butterflies and vintage clothing and lives with her family in Southern California.

Image of Short Circuit - Short Circuit #03

I was sad, oh so sad,
All alone in my pain.
Thankfully that was when 
The Balloon Lady came.

I had hung my head down
And let out a groan,
When I saw a foot standing 
Right next to my own.

I looked up and saw, 
To my great surprise,
A friendly-faced lady
In front of my eyes.

"Would you like a balloon?
I've got some with me,
Right here in my wallet.
Hold on, let me see..."

And she held out to me
Three balloons: red, green, blue.
I took happy red.
Wouldn't you choose red, too?

Then, "Thank you," I said
As I looked up to stare
At that friendly-eyed face
With the blond curly hair.

The Balloon Lady smiled
And patted my head.
"You have a nice day,"
Was all that she said.

And then she was gone.
She just disappeared.
And I stood there holding
My small souvenir.

I looked at the thing
And started to grin.
I stretched out a red line 
As long as my chin.

I let it snap back.
I took in some air
And filled that balloon
With all my despair.

I let go of the neck.
The balloon made a tweet
And whizzed all around,
Then dropped at my feet.

I picked it back up 
And went on my way,
So glad the Balloon Lady
Stopped by today.

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7

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