PDA

View Full Version : Who is the author of a poem and what is the complete poem?


maragaiasong
Dec 10, 2008, 12:58 PM
I remember part of a poem but cannot remember the author. The parts I somewhat remember are this:
I have often wondered at the epitaph that was written for me,
A boat with furled sail at rest in a harbor.
In truth it pictures not my destination but my life.
For love was offered me but I shrank from its disillusionment,
Sorrow knocked at my door but I was afraid...
And all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.
And now I know we must lift the sails and catch the winds of destiny
Wherever they drive the boat,
For 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.

Any idea who wrote this and where I can get the full, complete poem?

Gem_22205
Dec 10, 2008, 01:16 PM
The poem which you are referring to was written by, Edgar Lee Masters (http://www.fullposter.com/snippets.php?snippet=119) (1869-1950), entitled

George Gray

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 disillusionment;
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.

Hope this helps you.