PoemBalloons
Author / PoetSylvia Plath
TagsInnocence, Strawberries, Tension, War

Since Christmas they have lived with us,
Guileless and clear,
Oval soul-animals,
Taking up half the space,
Moving and rubbing on the silk

Invisible air drifts,
Giving a shriek and pop
When attacked, then scooting to rest, barely trembling.
Yellow cathead, blue fish————
Such queer moons we live with

Instead of dead furniture!
Straw mats, white walls
And these traveling
Globes of thin air, red, green,
Delighting

The heart like wishes or free
Peacocks blessing
Old ground with a feather
Beaten in starry metals.
Your small

Brother is making
His balloon squeak like a cat.
Seeming to see
A funny pink world he might eat on the other side of it,
He bites,

Then sits
Back, fat jug
Contemplating a world clear as water.
A red
Shred in his little fist.
5 February 1963

Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath
27 Oct 1932 - 11 Feb 1963
Region: North America
Period: Contemporary
Movement: Confessional
Awards: Glascock Prize, Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

more poems by Sylvia Plath

Poem NameTopic
Witch BurningEmpowerment, Feminism, History
Two Lovers And A Beachcomber By The Real SeaHouse, Ocean, Sea
TulipsEmotion, Nature, Symbolism
The JailerConfinement, Oppression, Power
The Rabbit CatcherExistentialism, Metaphor, Nature
ThalidomideEthics, Medicine, Moon
Suicide Off Egg RockDespair, Isolation, Mortality
SpinsterConfusion, Contrast, Disorder
Soliloquy Of The SolipsistExistentialism, Philosophy, Solitude
Poppies In JulyDesire, Emptiness, Frustration

all poems by Sylvia Plath

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