George Gray
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.
This poem is probably one of the most abstract in the whole book, but that also makes it the easiest to relate to. George shys away from love because of his fear, and doesn’t answer the door, where oppurtunity may very well be knocking. He was driven to succede but afraid of failure, but wasn’t happy with his life while living in this fear.
It’s only once he dies that George realizes that he should have taken advantage of all those oppurtunities he had, for both love, meaning, and success. It’s almost that you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, and in this case gone is taken to the extreme, death.
This poem is full of advice to all of the living that will listen, sieze your chances, let the winds take you, and even if you may struggle you’re on your path to success and a fulfilling life!
