on a sunless day in West Seattle
we saw an empty bottle on the beach

always wanted to send a message in a bottle,
I thought, feeling extra adventurous in my fabulous oyster-shell hat.
so I wrote one.
and rolled up a second blank one saying “write your own”
for whoever finds it next.
one should carry extra pencils for occasions such as this.
tucked it in, stoppered tight

and sat there a moment, with my message
that momentarily would travel into the world
like a wish to come true

message bottles are a bit cumbersome to drag to the sea
without any handles

here we are, moments before it embarked…

bon voyage, my message in a bottle

who might find it?