September 29, 2022

Balloons

By Tony Brown

In a park, I recognize
a family in tears 
as they release balloons

for a son killed a few days ago
in a confrontation with
police.

I hear someone near me grouching
about the environmental impact
of a balloon release

and no one talking about
the environmental impact
of a boy being dead

as the balloons rise away.

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About Tony Brown

A poet with a history in slam, lots of publications; my personal poetry and a little bit of daily life and opinions. Read the page called "About..." for the details. View all posts by Tony Brown

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 29th, 2022 at 9:56 pm and tagged with meditations, poems, poetry, political poems and posted in poetry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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6 responses to “Balloons”

• Léa
  September 30th, 2022 at 2:14 am

  As one who has lost a child, I can feel their pain. I hope that one day, they will know your words. “Balloons” was an excellent freeze-frame of the moment.

  Reply
  • Tony Brown
    October 1st, 2022 at 3:03 pm

    Thank you.

    Reply
  • Tony Brown
    October 1st, 2022 at 3:06 pm

    And I’m sorry. I have no children, so I cannot fathom such a loss very well. I do have friends, close friends, who have…profound losses. My condolences…

    Reply
    • Léa
      October 3rd, 2022 at 8:28 am

      Thank you.
• Mighty Mike McGee
  September 29th, 2022 at 10:18 pm

  Holy shit. That hit hard.

  Reply
  • Tony Brown
    September 29th, 2022 at 10:23 pm

    Thanks, Mike.

    Reply

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