From the outside looking in
I show the world a majestic façade.
They see only a moment of me--
The moment I choose for them to see.
A moment I captured in forever
projected on a sea, stilled in tranquility.

Through the curved glass
I see the world in all its beauty.
I imagine all the wonders out there
just past the edge of this glassed horizon.

Inside the bottle my world is small
and this tranquil sea lacks adventure,
caught in an eternal moment that ticks without a toc,
rerunning an ever out of reach dreamt of horizon.

What I would give to feel life’s winds upon my sails.
To surf the currents that lead to life's wonders,
feeling moment after moment crashing like waves around me
until I find myself landing on those greener shores.

Instead, I find myself dry-docked on this shelf.
A vessel crafted by a master hand to tame adventure
encased in inhibition’s glass,
cursed just to be a ship in a bottle.


Joey Jones