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Poem
November 20, 1931
Clinch Valley News
Tazewell, Jeffersonville, Tazewell County, Virginia
What is this article about?
A reflective poem about an elderly farmer, tied to inland life, who in his youth dreamed of sailing ships but now imagines them as cloud formations over the prairie, ships that never sail.
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OCR Quality
95%
Excellent
Full Text
THE LITTLE SHIPS THAT NEVER SAIL.
(By Glenn Ward Dresbach.)
At work on inland farms he must
have dreamed
In restless youth, of sailing ships that came
With lifted prows where still the
wonder gleamed
From seas and ports he loved but
could not name.
In him was some old trace of blood
that knew
The lift of sails and thrill of blowing
spray—
But land had held him and the harvest
grew
And he had never dared to go away.
Too old at last for work, his knotted
hands
Have turned to dreams his youth saw
shining by,
And at a window facing prairie lands
He sees the cloud-ships billowed down
the sky.
Each day he sits there, till the lights
must fail,
To build his little ships that never
sail.
(By Glenn Ward Dresbach.)
At work on inland farms he must
have dreamed
In restless youth, of sailing ships that came
With lifted prows where still the
wonder gleamed
From seas and ports he loved but
could not name.
In him was some old trace of blood
that knew
The lift of sails and thrill of blowing
spray—
But land had held him and the harvest
grew
And he had never dared to go away.
Too old at last for work, his knotted
hands
Have turned to dreams his youth saw
shining by,
And at a window facing prairie lands
He sees the cloud-ships billowed down
the sky.
Each day he sits there, till the lights
must fail,
To build his little ships that never
sail.
What sub-type of article is it?
Pastoral
Elegy
What themes does it cover?
Nature Seasons
Death Mourning
What keywords are associated?
Little Ships
Farmer Dreams
Sailing Ships
Prairie Lands
Unfulfilled Youth
Cloud Ships
What entities or persons were involved?
By Glenn Ward Dresbach.
Poem Details
Title
The Little Ships That Never Sail.
Author
By Glenn Ward Dresbach.
Form / Style
Rhymed Quatrains
Key Lines
Each Day He Sits There, Till The Lights Must Fail,
To Build His Little Ships That Never Sail.