Stop it.
Stop releasing paper lanterns
The flesh of your loved ones will never be warmed by the tiny flame
The mass of twinkling dots never reflected in their eyes
(What's wrong with stars, anyway?)
Their souls untouched by whatever message you sent up with it
As insubstantial as a breath, and gone twice as quickly
It is your soul the flickering candles warm
No one else's
Where do you think they go?
Nowhere
They stay right here
A nuisance, once your whispered love fades
As well to write "I LOVE YOU" on a plastic six pack beer can holder
And drop it in the ocean
The dead and dying sea life
A beautiful tribute
To the one you miss
+
Stop it
Stop releasing balloons
The bones of your loved ones will never see them
The latex doesn't go anywhere
It stays right here
Falls right back to earth
A waste
Garish rubber, besmirching this world
And never brushing the next
+
Just stop it.
+
+
+
Thank you for reading, and for not releasing balloons and paper lanterns! Please leave a comment so I can easily reciprocate.
About the Creator
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Keep reading
More stories from L.C. Schäfer and writers in Poets and other communities.
Doing it for the troops
The others dropped like flies around me. We fought and struggled to get to this point. I'm the only one left now. The objective is right there. A mere two hundred feet away. The last of my team got a bullet to the head right next to me, but I couldn't do anything. I was able to locate and neutralise the sniper as he shot my friend, so his death was at least not in vain.
By Mohammed Darasi7 days ago in Fiction
Comments (21)
I have seen this happen so often, and once I was aware of the issues I tried to stop it, but almost always was slapped down because I was stopping people having fun
Brilliantly written!!! 💕❤️❤️
Wow, I never realized this was happening. No worries though I've never released a paper lantern, a balloon, or dropped a plastic anything on the beach or the ocean. Fantastic prose you are a gifted poet.
OMG... I had no idea this was happening! I never really thought of what happened when people let go of the lanterns and now I'm horrified! This was eye opening and deeply saddening! Thank you for this L.C.!!
The wasteful ways of humanity. I fear we will never learn. We find temporary joy in our actions, which do permanent harm to our world. Just write it on their tombstones where it is etched forever. So much truth written here.
This needs to be made into a poster and stuck on billboards, lamp posts, public loo doors! Great work x
THIS is the fire that's required! More heat please. And mega-thanks!
I’ve been wanting to write an article about this for a long while now but it just gets me too riled up. You did it so beautifully and succinctly with this poem. My husband and I don’t really go to movies or on conventional dates but we do have a tour of ducks that we see on our days off. Four parks in four different towns (up to 30 mins away) that are home to multiple flocks of ducks and geese. Normally I’d not feed ducks but they’re already fed so much bread by others… anyway, we show up and call to them and they all come running for the cracked corn, waterfowl scratch, and duck food melange we feed them. They love it and I like to believe they have affection for us as they trust us in ways they never trust the other visitors to their homes. Sometimes they disappear though. One here and one there. Once there was a mass kill off that started slowly at first. Classic signs of mold toxicity if you know what to look for. So often the feeders just dump the day old and expired breads and cookies or they feed them cat or dog food thinking it’s good for them. It’s not. But the worst part is the mold. Birds are so sensitive. And then there’s the bread bags they leave scattered around and littering the water and parks. The confetti from the gender reveals and sweet sixteen parties that are left on the ground and tell a tale of long since released balloons and lanterns and god knows what other horrific harm has been wrecked in the name of celebrations of life. Wow. See. Your poem says it all so much better. Well done. I applaud the message and your beautiful writing. 🫶
Important message. Poor animals!
That owl 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I hope this reaches more people. Animals are on this planet for us to protect them. Not to kill. Not to eat. Not to torture 🥺
Not to mention, pick up your trash & recycle. Leave the place cleaner than you found it.
Hear hear 👏👏
yep. Agreed. I get the idea of it but ugh... the consequences are just too great. I don't think my loved one would want an animal to die for a symbolic gesture.
Brilliant LC! Releasing balloons is terrible, but I had no idea paper lanterns were also a hazard! Not that I've ever released one myself, but now I know not to.
Even the plastic thing that holds soda cans together getting thrown in ocean. I am not an environmentalist but some things just have no purpose/place
👍😢
I think people do that to comfort themselves in sorrow. Just how we used writing to release our grief. Just like the pop up sensory toy does not cure the need for sensory but it’s there to manage the need for sensory. We human do a lot of unnecessary things but we always like any form of entertainment.
Such a cost for a moments fleeting joy. Moments like these make me despair for humanity - nice work LC!
Here here. I got a pack of paper lanterns for my birthday about a decade ago. I so badly wanted to let them go, but I didnt. They sat in my shed for six or seven years and then went in the bin - just as wasteful, but safer. My soul deserves warming - my soul needs warming - but there are ways that cost others less I think.
This is written so well, that's the only way I can explain it - talent!!
I love the message! Great environmentalism!