he was born in the summer

and lived in the sea

floated away into the sunset

in a coke bottle with me

we saw the whole world

from our glass boat

held on during the hurricanes

and tried to stay afloat

only after the hundredth storm

and another brush with death

did I realize that that if he died

the grief would take away my breath

one day we washed up on shore

and as we stepped onto the land

he let go and walked off until

all that was left was his footprints in the sand

the sadness hit me like I knew it would

but to my surprise, I did not die

I held my head up and walked away

only when December came did I let myself cry

the tears froze on my cheeks

and I put them away for a rainy day

I smiled at the sun and thanked her for the warmth

and she told me that it would be okay.