The Flower Boat
The fisherman's swapping a yarn for a yarn
Under the hand of the village barber,
And her in the angle of house and barn
His deep-sea dory has found a harbor.
At anchor she rides the sunny sod
As full to the gunnel of flowers growing
As ever she turned her home with cod
From George's bank when winds were blowing.
And I judge from that elysian freight
That all they ask is rougher weather,
And dory and master will sail by fate
To seek the Happy Isles together.
This poem presents a whimsical scene of a fisherman's boat adorned with flowers, contrasting its humble purpose with an implied search for something more. The juxtaposition of the boat's origins in fishing expeditions with its current role as a floral vessel suggests a yearning for beauty and adventure beyond the mundane. Unlike Frost's earlier poems that often explored the bleakness of rural life, this piece offers a glimmer of hope and imagination, capturing the spirit of post-World War I America.