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1879–1931

The Empty Boats

Vachel Lindsay

Why do I see these empty boats, sailing on airy seas? One haunted me the whole night long, swaying with every breeze, Returning always near the eaves, or by the skylight glass: There it will wait me many weeks, and then, at last, will pass.

Each soul is haunted by a ship in which that soul might ride And climb the glorious mysteries of Heaven's silent tide In voyages that change the very metes and bounds of Fate — O empty boats, we all refuse, that by our windows wait!

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The Empty Boats · Vachel Lindsay · Poetry Cove