With My Joyful Balloon

With my joyful balloon
I found the sky.
But find in middle-age
That the balloon soon
Deflates. And of late
My thoughts engage
With Raleigh’s stage.

(Note: the reference to “Raleigh’s stage” is to his poem “All the Worlds a Stage”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMuWT1iLn3w