Poem by Vachel Lindsay

The Empty Boats

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!

1. To the United States Senate
2. To Reformers in Despair
3. The Perfect Marriage
4. On the Building of Springfield
5. Upon Returning to the Country Road

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