The Ship That Sails

I'd rather be the ship that sails and rides the billows wild and free

Than to be the ship that always fails to leave its port and go to sea

I'd rather feel the sting of strife, where gales are born and tempests roar

Than settle down to useless life and rot in dry dock on the shore

I'd rather fight some mighty wave with honor in supreme command

And fill at last a well-earned grave, than die in ease upon the sand

I'd rather drive where sea storms blow, and be the ship that always failed

to make the ports where it would go, than be the ship that never sailed.

*verse from a quotes and passages book my mom gave me for graduation accompanied by a pic from my travels in Vietnam