Balloon

"Oh," You say,
"He died, last June,
I didn't tell you,
You would only have come down
for the funeral"

I would have, I would...

There is 200 miles of cable
between your ear and mine,
I hear every straining, humming,
taut inch of it.

The string feels thin,
I roll it between my fingers,
I'm supposed to let go,
release the balloon into the sky,
watch it bob and soar
until it's out of sight.

You ask about the weather.