Lizzy Burnam 🐞

“Don’t sail out farther than you can row back.” — Danish Proverb


Sail out! 
A life well-lived doesn’t bob 
like a lily pad on the surface of a pond, 
neatly tethered to the mud. 
Nothing but salt and triumph awaits you.
Throw your oars into the sea 
and go on, go on. 

Sail out! 
Be blue and absolute as the wide sky 
when you push off harbor, your compass 
pointing at who-knows-where. 
Attack the bare horizon with your anchor 
in your teeth until every pirate you meet
recites your name like a prayer.

Sail out! 
Ignore the seasick warnings.
Seek the violent storms
and break through brick-like waves.
Let the sunshine age your delicate face
into the wild spun-out grin
of the nearly-drowned. 

Sail out! 
Even divest of boats or fire, 
your ancestor’s ancestors knew 
home was a moving target, 
and the ingredients for survival 
would be peppered across the earth, 
ripe in time for their arrival. 

Sail out! 
Let wind and water 
show you what freedom means 
and where it ends—or doesn’t. 
Learn hello and goodbye in every language. 
You’re only lost if 
you had a destination in mind.