Using Elixir Efficiently Is the Key to Victory

Balloons are like New Year’s resolutions,  
an unwise investment — none of them  
likely to last very long. No matter  
what we do, they leak helium  
and sink slowly to the ground.  

Then there are the balloons that got  
stuck in the tall oak at the park  
near our house, the ones I bought  
for the Pacifier Party I threw for my son  
at eighteen months. Back when I was ready  
for him to grow up, back when he loved  
balloons and cheerfully waved goodbye  
to them, squealing in delight to see them  
rise toward the sky, not realizing all  
that he was letting go.  

He howled terribly that night,  
unable to soothe himself to sleep.  
I got on my hands and knees, then,  
praying to find some forgotten binky — 
fallen, lost, between my child’s crib  
and the wall.  

At eight, after a long day of school,  
my son glances up from his video game 
and asks, “Why didn’t Achilles’ mom  
just hold him by a spot that was already  
protected and dip him again  
to cover his heel? The way she did it 
was dumb. No wonder he died.” 

If there were immortal words,  
vows we could make and not break,  
I’d tell him, “Any mom would do  
so many things differently  
given the chance.” I’d teach him  
chances are like balloons.  

MARISSA GLOVER

Marissa Glover teaches and writes in Florida, where she spends most of her time sweating and swatting bugs. Marissa’s first full-length poetry collection, Let Go of the Hands You Hold, was released by Mercer University Press in 2021. Her second collection, Box Office Gospel, will be published by Mercer in 2023.