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Thursday, June 14, 2012

Kenia's challenge

Photobucket photo
by Lady Writer

NOTE IN A BOTTLE


Mom and Dad —

I’m sure you know how much I miss you both.
I think about you every time I think of rivers, streams, lakes or oceans. I think of you when 
I see a fishing rod, a reel, or a creel of bait.

I’m going to put this note in a bottle and throw
it into the outgoing tide, in the place where
your ashes were mixed together and scattered
to the seven seas.
  
Love always,
your Kay
  
Kenia's challenge today for the online writers' group Imaginary Garden with Real Toads is to write a message to someone, then write it in chalk on the sidewalk or a wall, pin it to a tree, post it on a bulletin board, or e-mail it to someone.
I could have put it on our back sidewalk, but I couldn't find any chalk, and I'm sure I'd have been arrested putting it on someone else's wall, and our outside walls are stucco.
So, using my Mac's Pages program, I wrote it out in a nice casual script in dark purple on a pale yellow background, rather like cameo vellum notepaper, but I couldn't get it from there to my blog.
I crashed my iPhoto program three times trying to put it in there.
Finally, I e-mailed it from myself to myself, and copied it here (the font and background were wrong, but I got something else) and my late parents will know it is for them.


14 comments:

Joyful said...

Ooops, my eyes play tricks on me. I thought the title said "Kenya's Challenge" ;-)

I enjoyed your verse.

Sreeja said...

Let that message reach....

Daydreamertoo said...

I love the message in a bottle. Yes, they will know it's for them.

Fireblossom said...

The idea of a letter in a bottle for them is so sweet, Kay.

Susie Clevenger said...

How beautiful. Somehow I think they know...

Helen said...

The end result of all your effort? A lovely poem, sentiment and love abundant. (no matter the font)

Marian said...

aww! kay, i love this, SO thoughtful and loving.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Kay, this is poignantly beautiful. Yes, they will know it is for them. I love it that their ashes were scattered on the sea.

Kerry O'Connor said...

I hope your words do find their way into a bottle too, thrown to the water.

Unknown said...

Ola&Noor send their best weekend regards. We all here think the message in a bottle a lovely idea.

Regards, Linnea&Ola&Noor

Mary said...

This is very touching, Kay! I understand completely. I wish there were some way I could communicate with my deceased parents. I don't think one EVER does not miss having parents!

Kenia Santos said...

I love it, Kay. I wonder what my life will be like when my parents are not around anymore. I can imagine it's exactly like you described here... the absence in everything around you, to find a memory of them covering everything.

The line about the mixed ashes reminded of a poem I ADORE, written by Nazim Hikmet, do you mind if I share a link here?

Thanks for participating in the challenge, I'm glad you still did after having so much work to get your poem posted. Lots of love. <3

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-want-to-die-before-you/

Hannah said...

Kay, this makes my eyes dewy...I was just thinking about my parents today. This is confirmation for me to say what I need to say to them in this life lest I too, will be scripting messages to the sea. So beautifully written, Kay, it made me tear up and brought me such a lovely image of who they were to you. Thank you, deeply.

Kay said...

This beautiful prose reminds me of Toro Nagashi. It's a Japanese tradition, perhaps Buddhist or Shinto of sending out lanterns onto the river with prayers to loved ones who had passed on. We have this every year in Hawaii at Ala Moana beach and is a huge thing where people of many faiths now take part. People write messages with the lanterns and set them on little boats out onto the ocean so that spirits now gone can receive them. It's really beautiful.