City For Balloons

I decided to live dangerously in October. It’s a scary month, so I’m going to explore a form of poetry with stringent rules that moves at a rapid-fire pace. I’m going to write blitz poetry. This unusual style, developed by Robert Keim, has set rules using connecting phrases to create a 50-line verse titled City For Balloons.

Line 1 is a short phrase or image. Line 2 is another short phrase or image using the same first word as line 1. Lines 3 and 4 starts with the same word used as the last word of line 2. Then, lines 5 and 6 use the last word of line 4. This pattern is followed until line 48. Line 49 uses the last word in 48. Line 50 begins with the last word in line 47. The title is three words long. The title format is the first word of line 3, a preposition or conjunction, and the first word of 47. You can’t use any punctuation. Luckily, these poems don’t need to rhyme. This poetic adventure will either be a lot of fun or leave me frustrated. I will call this Blitz poem City For Balloons. Let’s get our spooky scare on right now.

City For Balloons

Coming home

Coming from New York City

City of opportunity

City that never sleeps

Sleeps in the darkness of night

Sleeps the slumber

Slumber of the righteous

Slumber of the innocent

Innocent of shedding blood

Innocent of suppressing dreams

Dreams of success

Dreams or illusions

Illusions of power

Illusions of wealth

Wealth of unlimited money

Wealth lost and found

Found on every street corner

Found in the pocket of your jeans

Jeans with holes in the legs

Jean back in style

Style to catch the eye

Style to show your worth

Worth more than the illusion

Worth more than spare change

Change your image

Change your name

Name you were born with

Name you no longer need

Need that makes you desperate

Need mingled with greed

Greed for high living

Greed never satisfied

Satisfied by the glitz and glamor

Satisfied by the high life

Life lived in a high rise

Life lived among the weeds

Weeds growing through sidewalk cracks

Weeds sprouting amidst the splendor

Splendor of electric lights

Splendor of a Manhattan view

View of the restless wanders

View of the towers and buildings

Buildings decked out for the holidays

Buildings sheltering the parade

Parade of animated characters

Parade of floating balloons

Balloons hovering above the city

Balloons above the city that never sleeps

City

Sleeps

Who is Molly Shea?

Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh.  To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.

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