I HAVE studied many times The marble which was chiseled for me -- A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor. In truth it pictures not my destination But my life. For love was offered me and I shrank from its dis-illusionment; Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid; Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances. Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life. And now I know that we must lift the sail And catch the winds of destiny Wherever they drive the boat. To put meaning in one's life may end in madness, But life without meaning is the torture Of restlessness and vague desire -- It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AUTUMN by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE IDAHO EGG WOMAN by KAREN SWENSON THE BLACK COTTAGE by ROBERT FROST THE DEATH OF SLAVERY by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT THE DARK MAN by NORA (CHESSON) HOPPER A CONTEMPLATION UPON FLOWERS by HENRY KING (1592-1669) WHERE GO THE BOATS? by ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON |