Bottled Tonic
Bottled Tonic
Bottled Tonic
Composed as part of the 'Surfacing' workshop programme
Composed as part of the 'Surfacing' workshop programme
16 years old
One of the younger ones drawn by the loyalty scam
Safeway girl
watching the clock and dividing time to pieces
Smashing those seconds so they no longer constrain
But fly around my checkout like dust swept up in light mindlessly scan and scan again
Spray the counter
Change the till roll
Pick up dropped ABC cards and pocket them 1,2,3.
We'll redeem those points
On cut priced beer, 20/20, vodka, gin And suppose there must have been tonic
We'll roll the full trolleys to the pebbled beach in Seaford watched over by the sulky Seven Sisters
This bottle was one of the lucky ones
Swept up by the sea
It escaped the fate of glass
Smashed and scattered outside Woolies on Broad Street
The empty beer cans used as ash trays in closed door bedrooms with windows opened wide.
27 years later you show up on my fishing boat beach
Location upgrade some would say
You the poor cousin of 'message in' fame
No child would squeal in anticipation at your crumpled form
Plastic wrapped in plastic, distinguished by a flurry of bubbles And that logo,
1 check your neck for expiry
APR 23
I never knew tonic lasted that long
Safeways, remains somewhere
Retreating, surfacing
I sit on the beach and wonder if I'll ever return
Rebecca Swarbrick
April 2023