Tragedy

      Jill Spargur


          I always wanted a red balloon,
          It only cost a dime;
          But Ma said it was risky,
          They broke so quickly,
          And beside, she didn't have time,
          And even if she did, she didn't
          Think they were worth a dime.
          We lived on a farm & I only went
          To one circus and fair,
          And all the ballons I ever saw were there:
          There were yellow ones & blue ones,
          But the kind I liked the best
          Were the red, and I don't see why
          She couldn't have stopped and said
          That maybe I could have one -
          But she didn't - I suppose that now
          You can buy them anywheres,
          And that they still sell red ones
          At circuses and fairs.
          I got a little money saved;
          I got a lot of time,
          I got no one to tell me how to spend my dime;
          Plenty of balloons - but somehow
          There's something died inside of me,
          And I don't want one now.