I have studied many times <br />The marble which was chiseled for me -- <br />A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor. <br />In truth it pictures not my destination <br />But my life. <br />For love was offered me and I shrank from its disillusionment; <br />Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid; <br />Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances. <br />Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life. <br />And now I know that we must lift the sail <br />And catch the winds of destiny <br />Wherever they drive the boat. <br />To put meaning in one's life may end in madness, <br />But life without meaning is the torture <br />Of restlessness and vague desire -- <br />It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.<br /><br />Edgar Lee Masters<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/george-gray/
