99 Drifloons

You and me in the twilight glow

Little hand reaching, don’t you know

One small tug, one soft sigh

Drifloon drifting in the evening sky

They say it’s just a balloon, cotton and thread

But there’s something heavy where it led

Purple body, hollow stare

Follows you close but the air is rare

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Ninety-nine red balloons go by

Drifloon only needs one to fly

Holding tight, don’t ask why

Lifting off into the sky

No scream, no shout, no warning sound

Just a child lost and never found

Ninety-nine dreams floating free

Drifloon grins – one less than three

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Tuesday evening after school

Parents think it’s just child’s fool

Balloon looks soft, what could go wrong?

But it pulls and pulls to its ghostly song

Wispy hands, no eyes to plead

Just a silent, drifting need

Wants to take you somewhere strange

Up where the real world starts to change

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Ninety-nine red balloons go by

Drifloon only needs one to fly

Holding tight, don’t ask why

Lifting off into the sky

No scream, no shout, no warning sound

Just a child lost and never found

Ninety-nine dreams floating free

Drifloon grins – one less than three

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From the valley to the clouds so thin

You won’t feel the ghost pulling from within

Hands so small, grip so tight

Gone before the second night

They’ll search for hours, they’ll search for days

Drifloon floats through the purple haze

No red balloon, no child’s trace

Just a thin string in an empty space

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Ninety-nine… ninety-eight…

Drifloon doesn’t really need to wait

Ninety-nine stories, never told

One more soul in the drifting cold

One small hand… one soft sigh…

Drifloon wave… and goodbye.