Dee Thompson’s most recent poem to appear here was Devotion (July 2013).

Just Go Sailing Out There
By Dee Thompson

I put my hands on your chest each night and pray
as if intoning those words keeps you safe.
I like that you’re back to your old self, I say.
It will last half a week, that’s all,
your man voice rumbles.

No no no no no …
Despite the perfect squared bedcovers
and the clean boy above–
despite the whispered incantations
despite my outstretched arms
trying to balance it all as I run–
you will insist on being sad.

I want to remember the way you talked to Katie on the phone tonight–
the serious boy gone, smile-lit
you promise to hit
tennis balls in the cold,
despite your soreness and homework.

Leave your 17-year-old thoughts and seek out sunshine.
Laughter.
Sheer joy.
Run after it. Run hard.
Forward, abandoning barriers.
Let my love billow out behind you, sailing you forth
to love–not seriously, but recklessly–
no matter how tired you are,
to love
despite everything.