Caleigh

16

Message In A Bottle

Do you remember
that morning?
you stumbled in to the kitchen and I swore,
through the salty sea air and the smell of your burning coffee,
that morning even the dust tasted of love.

The last afternoon,
we swam against a creamsicle sky
the salt coated my legs until they stung
we tripped up the sand to the showers
and as I washed away the last pieces of the shore
you pretended you didn’t see me cry.

Do you remember that boardwalk?
one-hundred and eighty two slats of wood.
you counted while carrying me on your back.
I remember.
I sat high on your shoulders
and swore I could see the future.

We snuck under it, too.
we painted our initials and a heart
into the belly of the path
I loaded the brush with too much paint
and it dripped down the wood like blood.
Remember?

You kissed me as hot sand rained down on our faces
and i said, listen to their footsteps
where are they going, so quickly?
don’t they feel the hot sun on their backs,
reaching out molten fingertips
and pulling them back to the waves?
don’t you remember?”

And you said they didn’t feel anything.
That no one felt as much as I do.