(I usually don’t explain my poetry. The whats and whys. I’m actually not sure how obvious or obscure they are. This one though is inspired by a little book my daughter wrote and illustrated when she was around 5. She was so serious and focused working on it. And it, to me, it had a profound lesson. It was about a girl who was adrift on the water and had to find her way home. I kept this one. It’s different from her brother’s series on dumb animals, giant farts, and the seminal work “The Dad Who Curses A Lot.”

The memorable part about the daughter’s book is the pages and pages of seemingly nothing happening – just her and the boat in nothingness.

But she finally gets home – to a completely flooded city. Sone of the lines are her actual words.

Sail Home

And all the games they played 

The lies they told others

Themselves 

In furtherance of what?

Everything that was nothing

I just want to sail home

Today the sun is shining

I was smiling

Today it is raining

I was sad

And all the pages without captions

Just the single boat on the water

All the memories going round and round

I have wished for so long

How I wish for you today

I finally see the destination

The journey’s end

And its beginning

Sail again

Sail home