balloon

now and again he travels
shifting between shadowed cradles
and lightened pedestals,
sand-worn heart tucked within folds

he wants to dance in the riverbed
spilling cold water from between calloused palms
and to know that he will emerge from the water

the metaphor for search spilt over from the summer
examining rooms, clearing cobwebs of courtesy
and paying tuition for an introduction

this clear heart like a roadblock
empty spaces where i might put down my shoes
hoping to step inside is to learn the steps
how i'll fold sheets of paper into origami chairs
and cups, sheets and pillows

we'll be too quick to measure a tether
and with it leave only
black balloons tied to bike handles
buoyancy thwarted