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-   -   Who is the author of a poem and what is the complete poem? (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=290656)

  • Dec 10, 2008, 12:58 PM
    maragaiasong
    Who is the author of a poem and what is the complete poem?
    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?
  • Dec 10, 2008, 01:16 PM
    Gem_22205
    The poem which you are referring to was written by, Edgar Lee Masters (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.

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