Message in a Bottle

Message in a Bottle

A green glass bottle rolled in with the tide

its surface clouded from years at sea

I bent to lift it from the wet sand

the cork still firm, the glass still whole

Inside, a slip of paper curled like a sleeping shell

ink faded to the colour of storms

I worked it free with patient fingers

unfolded the creases that time had pressed deep

The words were short, but they held the weight of a life

a name I did not know

a place I could not find on any map

and a single line that felt like a whisper

find me, if you can

I walked along the shore with it in my hand

the sky low, the gulls circling slow

waves hissing secrets at my feet

as though the sea itself watched my next move

What kind of heart throws itself to the mercy of tides

trusting a stranger to catch it

what storm or sorrow makes that leap

knowing the answer may never come

I took the paper, read it once more

and slid it back into the bottle

set it adrift in the darkening surf

because some messages are not meant to end

only to keep travelling.