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Message in a bottle

What comes back is never lost

By Calvin LondonPublished 5 months ago 2 min read
Top Story - April 2026
Message in a bottle
Photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash

How much do you love me?

John asked his Elouise,

Is it that hard? Cannot you see?

I threw a bottle in the ocean today

When you find it, you will know

Exactly what I have wanted to say and what you need to know.

🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢

How am I supposed to find a bottle in the waves?

If you love someone, let them go is what the fables say

If they are yours, they will return

If they're not, well, I don’t have to say

The bottle will come back to you, I promise that to you

Maybe not tomorrow or even the next day.

🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢

For days on end, John went to the beach

Looking for the bottle, he hoped to find

Every day, he returned with disappointment on his mind

The winter came, and Elouise took ill

The bottle slipped into the past

Life doesn’t care who it takes: Elouise won’t be the last.

🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢

As years went by, John found love again

Although he found it hard

He still looked around when at the beach

But no bottle could be found

Until one day, when with his new love

A bottle washed up on the sand.

🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢

He bent down and picked it up

Popped the cork and removed the note within

“I loved you then, I still love you now… Elouise”

Is all that it said.

He closed his eyes and thought of her

And pondered what should have been.

🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢

I wonder who wrote such a lovely note

His new love said to him

This Elouise had such a deep love

For the person she had written this for

I wonder if they know it now

Or is it a secret that will be forevermore?

🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢

He looked at her with tears in his eyes

I think they understand

She wrote it for her lover

And reached out and took her hand

Let’s keep the bottle and the note

I’m not going to leave it in the sand.

🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢🪢

Till next time

Calvin

Submitted for the "What Comes Back" challenge:

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About the Creator

Calvin London

I write fiction, non-fiction and poetry about all things weird and wonderful, past and present. Life is full of different things to spark your imagination. All you have to do is embrace it - join me on my journey.

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    Written by Calvin London