Can you imagine
How life would really be
If birds were obese
And fell from their tree?

Sparrows staggering somehow
Around with bent beaks
Upturned to the sky
Awaiting helpful tweaks!

Alas, when the rain showers
Fall like you wouldn’t believe
You’d see Sparrows wearing snorkels
To help them better breathe!

And then an Albatross
Won’t be able to leave the ground
Due to overeating fish
And turning overly round.

Ducks, when thrown some bread
By children in the park
Would slowly, steadily sink
As surely as a dog does bark!

Swallows they would swallow
Many, too many flies
And end up heavily crashing
From our summer skies.

Then, all the newspapers
On the front page would read:
“We’re Fed up with Obese Birds
Please, Do NOT feed!”

Far be it from me ~ to say that LEAD BALLOONS don't float !     For example,  how thick is the lead,   how big is the Balloon,   is it filled with Helium,  is it to be floated on earth ,  or perhaps the moon,  with much less gravity and,,what about aboard a space craft ?  SO,  just like I said,  I can;t say LEAD BALLOONS  don't float.     Could it be said,  that Man's feelings are like LEAD BALLOONS?    How Thick or Thin skinned are they,  how big and attractive are the temptations?   Who and what are the Tempters,  that will draw our attention  away from  truths ,  carried aloft by LEAD BALLOONS.    In any of these cases I ask ...." IS THERE A TETHER ATTACHED"?      SO,,,, for the floating portion of the test !!     Prepare as follows:  Snorkels,  Diving Suits,  Flippers,  Masks and Weighted Belts.    Just the things we need for Proper Diving { just in case}.   Fully suited Swan Dives may not seem in place at the Olympics,   BUT at these Major Finals,,A fully suited person is REQUIRED.    Double pike with a Full Twist help in escaping "THAT HUGE SUCTION SOUND".   And of course the Perfect Bathing Cap,  to keep hair out of FACE.   There is Something about having  a situation "RIGHT IN YOUR FACE"  .

Undulating jade , juvenile days
Cold , salty rain
A seventh floor balcony
The gulls , the pelicans , the
sandpipers and me
Precious memory , precocious with crab bucket and flashlight ,
cut squid , open face reel , Panama
Jack mariners hat
Snorkels and sand dollars , shells , frothy
waters
Daughters , saltwater taffy , dolphins ,
mullet , catfish and boogie boards
Early breakers , soul shakers , thundering surf
The release of material worth
Sun melting into the western world
Gulf zephyrs kiss naked flesh ,
softening the man* ...

we used to run without shoes
we used to swim without snorkels
we used to walk not drive a car
we used to heal without a pill
we used to be happy without a screen
we find our way without emaps
we used to procreate without ****

we are accessory addicted
alone we are conflicted
from nature we have shifted
from ourselves we have drifted

a man is rich
in proportion
to the number of things
he can afford to let alone (Thoreau)

what mind has eye to garden
          in a field of headrests ?
pulling up the tough weeds
          that manage off embalmers fluid
repainting plastic flowers for strangers families
reciting engraved names that amuse
          such as Clutterbuck and Storm Boyle
warden the valve
          that values the last breath
spike the ground with snorkels
           and thicken the atmosphere
           with mans garbage gases
what relief the earth would feel
           deflated of our bizarre bedding...
could we light them
           like the flames of factories ?