Donald Kihm

Balloon Passages Donald Kihm

Experience and emotion are primary components of life, both cornerstones of existence which form this offering. Each poem's narrator (persona) presents an event or a thought important to one individual's life. Initial steps require he molds an identity through family interactions, emotional fluctuations; from bizarre to alarming, from comfortable to appreciative. He also discovers books and nature in an effort to understand himself. How he joins the greater world then inspires him to assess personal maturity, when upper air currents shuffle him. The last phase of existence advances at a different speed, maybe pushes from another direction as he muses about the past, and concerns of age near. A hot air balloon ride is a useful metaphor to demonstrate the vigor of a balloonist who learns what operating a balloon takes, then navigates currents of air and returns safely to the ground. Experience, emotional growth are essential in the elaborate voyage. Enjoy the flight that is this book.