Return to Sender

The ocean sent these

words in a soda can

They washed up on shore

It stayed there for a little while

and after a business week

a little boy in a blue bathing suit

spotted it from up the beach

He dropped his yellow plastic

pail made in China

and ran towards it

His father asked him where

he was going

With no reply,

he grabbed the dirty can

and shook it; slips

of paper he could not read

fell into his hand

He ran back to his father,

seeking paternal assistance

They pieced the words together

on the sandy floor

rearranging them to unveil

After several minutes

they stood back and looked

“Read it, Daddy.”