Sunday, November 8, 2009


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.

(Edgar Lee Masters, excerpt from Wild at Heart)

4 comments:

raptor_ravenlord said...

damn, at 1st i didnt see the bottom, thought u wrote that one... lolz...

ah well... that poem is juz another one of many about the same topic.... nicely put into words la, but does it relly offer any hint as to how to find meaning in our lives?

Wei Zhi said...

haha i would love to write something like this, but another Mr. Lee wrote it d so cincai la

It does not, but its there to say don't shiver, don't fear. Everyone has their different means to define their life, but those that successfully do so are the ones that are not afraid of their own ambitions and dreams. I guess the poem wants to say to sail free we respect the ocean, but not to the extend of fearing it... Just found the poem really meaningful haha, you should read the book too! >.<

raptor_ravenlord said...

haih. wish i got all that time to read books. n wish i HAVE books to read haha. libraries, bookstores here all filled wif jap books only..... n too broke to order online or sumting liddat lol!

Wei Zhi said...

wakaka u know no time to read books is juz an excuse xD buy some frm back home nxt time! paperback quality but sipek cheap cuz its all pirated =P