ADRIFT AT SEA*
sea-worn bottle,
bobs on a digital tide.
inside, not paper brittle with salt,
but luminous lines of light,
coded in metaphors and rhyme.
message tossed
into the sea.
unknown sender,
no harbor designated, no destination
on any map.
it drifts, a lonely vessel,
across oceans of indifference,
until…
a seacoast appears,
unsummoned,
unexpected.
my eyes, the sand.
my mind, the beach.
I pick it up,
this delicate thing,
uncorking the silence.
The words flow out,
a story whispered,
a feeling shared,
across lifetimes,
across the vacuity.
suddenly,
I am the address.
the recipient unknown,
FOUND.
the message delivered.
the poem,
HOME.
*Note: I posted this poem at Poetry Soup in June 2025 then deleted it (www.poetrysoup.com › poem › adrift_at_sea_1740391). This is my original poem and has not been plagiarized. Also, this poem was recently published in Highland Park Poetry’s Anthology titled MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE. I am blessed.
aborted ambitions
time squandered
dreams abandoned
a life mismanaged
a ship with
no one at the helm
subject to the currents
and the whim of winds
idle and adrift
we've run out of options
out of time and
out of excuses
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Submitted on June 2, 2025 for contest YOUR CHOICE T sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - Honorable Mention
Fly with me to the nearest rainbow,
in your arms I'll place a star.
All I want is to be with you
wherever you are.
We can walk between the moonbeams
or simply glide along in space;
hand in hand, drifting aimlessly
never caring about the pace.
Time is what we'll share and
though we care about the time,
as long as we are together,
I am yours and you are mine.
The sun will provide us warmth,
the clouds shelter us in shade;
this will be our private world
no other will invade.
Sleep in peace beside me,
always awaken next to me;
in these arms I'll forever hold you
till the winds blow the waves from the sea.
When all the interactions of the day left me exhausted, and lost,
When I would start to drift,
To let the currents of solitude swallow my little boat-
You would come for me, you would take the helm.
You would point me towards home again.
Now that you are gone, I stay adrift.
Unmoored, there is no darker sea than this.
No lonelier waters, nor more barren shores.
I come to where the ocean is born
I dip my toes into the glassy blackness,
I let my dress slip from my shoulders
And I dive into these dark, dark waters.
Near ocean surf, buds bloom.
Duet-sashay in silky dress.
Side to side sway of locks.
Teeny feet in tall grass.
Brunette and strawberry blonde.
Pinwheel-limbs like pale ballerinas.
Midnight-bare without glass,
Fairy-soles in overgrown freesia.
Sisters in momentum of glee.
Brushed eyes, opened and closed.
Dreamers adrift on waft canvas.
Ebb-flow of pink stars, superimposed.
I entered the world of sleep,
Where creations danced on waves.
Cliffs loomed vast and deep,
Their mystery stirred the brave.
The rhythmic ocean’s motion,
And the world’s life-laden view,
Revealed secrets of the ocean,
Surprisingly witnessed by few.
I watched a sailor take his ride,
Steering the boat with flair—then he fell.
Though currents surged with the spring tide,
I held tight to my precious shell.
Then crackling sounds broke the dream,
Nature’s embrace slipped away, so nice.
For a moment, bound by a wild, green theme,
Till reality struck—my bowl of rice.
Tiny and trembling,
the ant on its leaf-raft,
each ripples a new world....
The rush of the current,
and the stillness of the leaf,
are not the same...
The panic of separation,
and that haunting feeling,
of a colony left behind...
The vastness of the river,
and unknown horizons?
And home so distant now....
The quiver of antennae,
sensing unfamiliar scents,
carried on the breeze...
That fleeting security,
six legs gripping tight,
on this fragile green island...
Whatever the journey's end,
uncertainty reigns supreme,
and the weight of insignificance,
may often overwhelm,
in this unplanned adventure...
Survival is also sometimes,
a silent prayer,
that the universe might hear.
Like a bird with no nest in Spring, wandering from tree to tree ~the young lady thought.
Like a sailboat with no sails,
adrift in the lonely ocean left to its fate ~the young lady shivered.
Like a child without presents at Christmas, wondering if Santa Claus lost the address ~the young lady was heartbroken.
She walked alone in the harsh
blizzard looking for her prince, her aching heart was bleeding
after losing the love of her life.
Overcome with grief, the young lady disappeared into the freezing dark lake to meet her beloved one.
Sometimes, beside the lake, you can listen to the Lady of the Lake singing in the winter nights.
Sometimes, under the moonlight, you can see two shapes embraced dancing above the waters.
The mute sense dazed by trance adrift elusive,
never wavers a moment to lacerate
the endangered dormant psyche unwary.
Contrived by passion dream of pale possession,
sapped by nascent sunrays curtain pores suck in.
Girlfriend: so, where’s my birthday gift?
Boyfriend: look, there’s a car near lift,
Sure, you like that colour,
Wow, of course, smart feller,
Here’s your lipstick, same shade—
Last words indeed he’d said,
For, ever since they went adrift.
_________________________________
Limerick |04.08.2023| humour, birthday, boyfriend, girlfriend
Lord, draw me closer
into the deep oceans of your heart
my soul is like a strand of seaweed
constantly alone and adrift
being tossed back and forth
in the currents of
hardships and despair
let my soul rest in the presence
of your comforting ocean waves
with the currents
of your tranquility
to regain the breath
of your saltwater air
that will never be washed away
from the rhythm of my spirit
If one could just bottle fears
Set them adrift in the ocean
To float a million miles away
Soul freed in just one motion
If only it was that easy
To rid oneself of fears
To bottle and simply set sail
Just like that…..disappeared!
Ditch greed, self-satisfaction, and selfishness.
Break free from the high-stress atmosphere.
I aim to overwhelm myself with full awareness.
wasting my breath by uttering worthless fear.
Break free from the high-stress atmosphere.
Cast wayward in the raging wind and thick fog.
wasting my breath by uttering worthless fear.
Grief breeds faint hope as it dilutes grim slog.
Cast wayward in the raging wind and thick fog.
This is a purification treatment for myself.
Grief breeds faint hope as it dilutes grim slog.
Flown over streams, lakes, and the house shelf
This is a purification treatment for myself.
Swimming in my huge ocean invites me back.
Flown over streams, lakes, and the house shelf
And moon-glazed seas send me to sleep track.
Swimming in my huge ocean invites me back.
I aim to overwhelm myself with full awareness.
And moon-glazed seas send me to sleep track
Ditch greed, self-satisfaction, and selfishness.
Written: February 17, 2023
You are free, I’m adrift
still lost in grief
Life stolen, it matters naught
who was the thief
The callous, in disregard
of life and beauty
Or in absence, the steward
who failed in duty
To feel, from failure
the sorrow of death
Forever lost, always
until my last breath
If only, different choices
had been made
Your soul, to rest
would not be laid
But now, in time
I have found some peace
Not enough, however
for the pain to cease
That will come, alas
when I hold you son
In heaven, together
when my life is done
lo, the moon hangs there
still and quiet all around
lazily floating
in the momentary calm
breathless… motionless...
fraught with anticipation
flush with excitement
the roaring sound approaches
onward, ever down
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