Message in a Bottle

A message in a bottle
In an ocean swirled with trash

Would there be someone to read it
If the ecosystem crashed?

I could write that I was sorry
That I left the earth a mess:
And promise not to foul it
Any more than all the rest.

I could swear that this one bottle
Was the last I’d ever toss,
That next time I’d recycle –
No more carbon would be lost.

I could write a solemn promise
Not to waste another drop,
Not to drive a big gas-guzzler,
That my power use would drop.

Or I could re-use the bottle
Find new purpose for the cork,
And let my message to the future
Be the way I live and work.

JIM BURKLO
Website: JIMBURKLO.COM    Weblog: MUSINGS    Follow me on twitter: @jtburklo
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Associate Dean of Religious Life, University of Southern California