A Message in a Bottle

The bottle opened.
inside, a small sea shell
white and worn, with small grooves from the sea.
my thumb moved along the edge
carving its name onto my print.

I threw it back in the ocean
with a swift flick of the wrist.
as tempting as it was to watch the speck of white
get smaller and smaller and smaller
as it swam across the tip of the ocean,
I did not.

I turned my head and faced the wind
letting it lift my skirt above my knees.

... August 2005