Clear skies—who would’ve thought?
It’s not every day we get the chance to ride
in a hot air balloon.
High winds and clouds of grey
delay the hopeful balloonist;
just as overcast dreams and a
whirlwind of worries stall
the engines of the mind.
How easy it is to forget that
although we are grounded, we are not
overburdened. We are not
pinned.
All it takes is a gentle flame
under the skin for our wildest
dreams to take flight.
A sky of clear blue silence for our thoughts
to gently roam, raw and free.
Higher and higher, the balloons fly—
waves of cotton with quilted panels, a
sea of flames wandering in perfect sync.
They hover on the horizon like splatters
of paint on a canvas.
A gesso of milk and pallid paints
smear the heavens with hues of
sherbet and lavender. Drops of color rain
down to the emerald earth below,
while others cling
to the twinkling jewels of the dark beyond.
Waiting to be seen.
Azriel Cervantes is a writing and design professional with ASD living in the mountainous state of Colorado. He currently writes web content for dozens of law firms throughout the United States. Azriel’s poems have been featured in The Plentitudes Journal, SPLASH!, and Cathexis Northwest Press. His obsessions with nature, music, history, and psychology are what primarily influence his work. When not researching legal statutes, he spends his free time writing poetry, practicing various instruments, and taking care of his pepper garden.
