I lost my bounce; it sprang away.

I said, “Don’t go!” It would not stay.

.

I said, “But why? What’s wrong with me?”

My bounce just said, “I want to be free!”

.

“If I don’t go, then I’ll go flat,

And I can’t much see the point in that.“

.

“But,” I said, “Where will you go?”

”Well,” said my bounce, “I don’t yet know…

.

“I want to go so far away,

I’ll find a world of non-stop play;

.

I’ll find a place I can just be

Without this endless rivalry…

.

Where bouncing is the natural state;

Where I find buoyancy is innate…

.

I’m really sick of all my yearning

To get beyond this tireless churning;

.

On and on and on it goes,

And the point of it all, nobody knows!”

.

I paused, then said, “I want to come!”

“No way!” said my bounce. “You’re much too glum!”

.

“A bounce needs laughter and love you know;

Those are the things that help bounces grow.

.

Otherwise we get frustrated

And then we head for being deflated.”

.

“Oh,” I said, with great regret;

“I guess I hadn’t realised yet.”

.

”Too late!” said my bounce, “I’ve had enough!”

And before I knew it, my bounce bounced off.

.

And so alas, my bounce has gone,

And as far as I know, it bounces on.