Message in a bottle

Message in a bottle

Discarded, disregarded; fallen from grace.
Yesterday’s comfort, empty of promises,
useless and half-heartedly hidden
or fallen from feeble grip.

Someone sat here, care-torn,
an orphan of love
contemplating funeral rites.
This is a lonely bench,
its flaking paintwork reflecting
the neglect in its short-stay tenant.
Bramble and bush encroach,
a claustrophobic haughtiness,
for a life under siege.

Where did you go
when you raised a weary body
and staggered into the arms of night ?
The small comfort of following shadow banned,
no proclamation of your presence
on this path of who-cares.

When you stumble-tumble, slip-trip,
clatter to an unforgiving earth,
give God a thought -
He’s thinking of you.