by Cheryl, Gulf Coast Poet

Message in a Bottle

A Fantasy

Photo by Scott Van Hoy from Unsplash.

Message in a Bottle

A Fantasy

A barefoot wanderer on the sands of time,

moment to moment, no reason or rhyme,

searching for a message in a bottle along the shoreline,

but pebbles on the beach were all I could find.

Looking for the light of my life, year after year,

I sang along with the music of the spheres,

seeking someone to sing with me as we embark,

two-by-two onto an archetypical ark.

I rowed my small boat…on dry land I planted my feet.

Miracle of miracles, soon we were dancing cheek-to-cheek!

All was bright where once were darkness and strife.

I smiled at you, the light of my life!

From each rising sun to the next rising sun,

on top of the world, under the gun,

or tossed by capricious seas, we’ve had a good run.

We’ve sailed life together, and it’s been fun!

Hand-in-hand on the beach we walk as before;

a message in a bottle washes up on the shore.

With hearts aflutter and chaos of mind,

we uncork the bottle, unsettled by what we find.

With the music of the spheres our hearts are attuned,

but the message in the bottle portends impending doom.

It says, “Tis a short voyage from cradle to tomb.”

We face an epic tidal wave…The end has come so soon!

Photo by Kampus from Pexels.
Photo by Jeremy Bishop from Unsplash.

Copyright© 2021 by Cheryl Batavia

46 Comments

      1. Thank you, David, for your thoughtful remarks. One of the first poems I ever wrote for Robert expresses a desire to die together. That wish is probably unlikely to be fulfilled, but the same idea is behind the ending of this poem.

        The message in the bottle that life is short is a realization we come to as we grow old, a truth that was undiscoverable to the young woman searching for a “message in a bottle” at the beginning of the poem.

        All the best, David. Many happy years ahead for you and your young family! ❤

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Oh this was so romantic and beautiful, Cheryl! I’ve always been fascinated with stories about messages in bottles. It’s quite mysterious… And in this poem, it’s so beautifully portrayed! Have a lovely day ❤️❤️❤️🤗🙏

    Liked by 2 people

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  17. What a beautiful mix of emotion and a poignant message behind the Message In A Bottle. We can search so long for something but, whether we find it or not, we have to make the most of it because the end credits can come rolling too soon.

    Just fantastic ❤️

    Caz xx

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  18. Thank you for this reminder that life and the time we have are precious. I’m intrigued by: “I sang along with the music of the spheres,” Many years ago, I created a painting of different colored spheres resting on the ocean. I still have that painting in my house.

    Liked by 2 people

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