Archive of poems by Anne Kelly
Annagh Beach
The bottle lies wedged
Between jagged grey rocks
Its gentle sloping neck
Caught at a curious angle.
Together we ease out
Its crested globe shape
Feasting our eyes
On the fine jaded parchment
Folded within.
"It's my message
I saw it first!" I say
As I clutch my new found treasure
But you find a sharp, white stone
You crack the swan-like neck
Glass scatters and splinters
You slide out the fragile parchment
Our footprints deepen in the sand.
In four foreign languages
We are told
To return the enclosed to the U.S. Navy
And expect no reward.
You fold the parchment
And place it in your jacket pocket.
Fine sand covers the shattered glass
Chaos has been averted.
Once again I've given in
To please and appease
To win some glory for my being
Wedged between male assumptions.
"Men rule the world!" You tell me kindly
As we climb the cliff together.
But now I wish I'd kicked and yelled
And held my treasure.
by Anne Kelly
Archive index | Next poem »
