Once Beyond Earthbound

Long ago, when hopes and dreams
Floated on air, drifting like the red balloons
Children let go at schools, before we knew
The dangers letting go of such balloons drew
To the birds and the fish of our world,
Before we stopped the letting go of balloons,
When we stood watching them,                                  sway with the breeze,
the shifting of dreams and hopes on air,
when we knew each other,
thinking we touched eternity
in a drift of air between us,
time stood still
in the sweet salt taste
of the seconds,
in the sandalwood smell
of the minutes,
in the smooth purring sound
of the hours
in the satin touch
of the days—
              for a moment we drifted
              with our hopes and dreams
              braided with eternity
              beyond the earth bound.