couldnt sleep

It wasn't happening last night, so I got out of bed to write. Here is what spilled out:

My little bottles

Every day your love fills my life
Then there are days when it is spilling over
For those days I have my little bottle
In it I can capture that overflowing
Put the cap on tight and set it aside
With its hand scribbled label, “Love”

There are day when joy takes the stage
And spills a drop or three over the edge
For those days I have my little bottle
Just ready to lock away those precious drops
Beneath the cap turned tight and set aside
With its hand scribbled label, “Joy”

There are days when serenity reigns
And peace splashes against the sides
For those days I have my little bottle
Ready to grab the generous splash
Then locked away tight and set aside
With its hand scribbled label, “Peace”

It happens that
There are dozens of such bottles
Stored in a secret box
Locked up tight and hidden away
Guarded more closely
Than all else I have

A stranger may come upon
A bottle with label well worn
And find the cap pressed down tight
If the stranger may hold the strength
To force the cap from it protective place
Inside will be found

Nothing

My little bottles are filled with memory
Of days, some recent, some long past
Waiting to be needed on a dark day
When love is not so generously applied
When joy is not the feeling spied
When peace can’t find a place to reside

When I open the bottle
And release the prize
I always find there is more inside
Than the day it was supplied
And although I empty the bottle
To fill that dark day
I find there is always something left
Saved in my little bottles
Waiting for the next sunless day

Grab a little bottle
And some nice labels
And a good writing pen
And start your own secret collection
Then on your next shadowy day
We can sit and talk
And open a bottle
And laugh

Ron Simpson, Jr.
October 27, 2008