Red

I bought a big red balloon today
And tied it around my right wrist,
It was my friend to talk to all day,
Red was there when others were not;
I took Red to the seaside for a walk,
We had a heart-to-air as the tide
Came in and the people pushed out
Toward the nearby ice-cream van;
We got some funny looks from
Those beach folk, who just did not understand us
And the way our friendship worked,
That single white string the only bond we needed;
She turned out to be a guiding light my friend Red,
Offering sound advice as she floated innocently by,
The only problem was I found myself watching her glisten
In the sunlight rather than listening to her words;
You see, an epiphany struck me late in the day
Like a car on the motorway - in those hours we spent together,
Walking the coast, I had come to really like Red,
And all I wanted to do then was kiss her inflated body;
So I leant into Red, really thinking she
Felt the same, but she had untied herself
From my wrist, and floated straight up,
High into the sky above, where she burst into shreds.

(I didn't actually attempt to snog a balloon, just in case you thought it was going that way - to be honest, though, I don't actually remember where the idea for this poem came from).