George Gray

I have studied many times
The marble which was chieseled 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 dissilusionment;
Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was affraid;
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 a torture
Of restless and vague desire-
It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.