If I Had a Great Balloon

If I had a great balloon, I’d travelThis way and that, and up and down,And throughout the world, from nation to nation,And from people to people.I’d float it into the hole on the top of the earthAnd visit the ones who live inside.And I’d take it past the stratosphereInto the open expanse of space,Not because I had some appointment to keep,But because I wanted to wander offAnd follow the need To amble.And I wouldn’t tell the Martians I was coming.I’d just show up and pretend that I was one of them.I’d wander the streets of the alien townsAnd sit in roadside cafesAnd watch the people,The alien people,And soak up the thing they are.And then I’d find the downcast Martians thereAnd put my arm around them.I’d make them feel that I was one of themAnd pretend that I was theirs and they were mine.Yes, if I had a great balloon, I’d travel far.I’d make the universe my passion.And I’m not so sure that that is wholesome.Perhaps there are reasons for the bounds That ties us fast to this little earth.I don’t know. But one thing is for sure,My heart flies upon a great balloon,It wraps itself around the downtrodden Of people, alien people, not like myself,But like myself nonetheless.And I think that that’s ok.