--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How perfect to be aboard a ship with…" description: "\"“How perfect to be aboard a ship with maybe a hundred years still in my pocket. But it's late, for all of us, and in truth the only ship there is is th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c9/mary-oliver-570_time_how-perfect-to-be-aboard-a-ship-with-may_335117.jpg" --- # How perfect to be aboard a ship with maybe a hundred years… ![“How perfect to be aboard a ship with maybe a hundred years still in my pocket. But it's late, for all of us, and in truth the only ship there is is the ship we are all on burning the world as we go.” quote by Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c9/mary-oliver-570_time_how-perfect-to-be-aboard-a-ship-with-may_335117.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c9/mary-oliver-570_time_how-perfect-to-be-aboard-a-ship-with-may_335117.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c9/mary-oliver-570_time_how-perfect-to-be-aboard-a-ship-with-may_335117.jpg) > ““How perfect to be aboard a ship with maybe a hundred years still in my pocket. But it's late, for all of us, and in truth the only ship there is is the ship we are all on burning the world as we go.”” [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is fleeting; we share a collective journey that inevitably harms the planet if we ignore responsibility. **In simple terms:** We all share one world that we are destroying. Key Takeaway Recognize shared destiny and act responsibly. Themes environment responsibility shared destiny impermanence Mood reflective somber Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - education - personal lifestyle choices - community activism Key Concepts ecology collective fate human impact Questions to Reflect On - What actions can you take today to protect the planet? - How does shared responsibility change your choices? A Different Perspective The metaphor may romanticize doom, overlooking hopeful alternatives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aboard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aboard/) [Aboard Ship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aboard-ship-373967/) [Burning World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burning-world-2043493/) [Perfect Aboard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect-aboard-3126670/) [Ship Burning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ship-burning-3126669/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“and everything generally made shipshape, which seemed a desirable state of affairs, given that we were in fact aboard a ship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/and-everything-generally-made-shipshape-which-seemed-a-desirable/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“Every Captain is a king aboard his own ship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/every-captain-is-a-king-aboard-his-own-ship/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [You don't do anything to further your stay aboard a ship that you see is going to go down to the bottom of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/you-don-t-do-anything-to-further-your-stay-aboard-a-ship-that-you-see/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“We are charred vessels vestiges of wood & wonder anchors tethered to our bows. It is the irony of a ship burning at sea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-smith/we-are-charred-vessels-vestiges-of-wood-wonder-anchors-tethered-to/) [Clint Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-smith/) > [“A burning map. Every epic, my friend Jack used to say, should start with a burning map. Like in the movies. 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You can’t seriously be worried about getting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/you-sneaked-into-my-cabin-annabeth-rolled-her-eyes-percy-you-ll-be/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“No one had asked about his life, the years aboard ship. As a child she had been fascinated by the way he would come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lakambini-a-sitoy/no-one-had-asked-about-his-life-the-years-aboard-ship-as-a-child-she/) [Lakambini A. Sitoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lakambini-a-sitoy/) ## More by Mary Oliver > [Belief isn't always easy. But this much I have learned--- if not enough else--- to live with my eyes open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/belief-isn-t-always-easy-but-this-much-i-have-learned-if-not-enough/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [In this universe we are given two gifts: the ability to love and the ability to question. Which are, at the same time, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/in-this-universe-we-are-given-two-gifts-the-ability-to-love-and-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Poetry is one of the original arts, and it began, as did all the fine arts, within the original wilderness of the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/poetry-is-one-of-the-original-arts-and-it-began-as-did-all-the-fine/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The dream of my life is to lie down by a slow river and stare at the light in the trees - to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/the-dream-of-my-life-is-to-lie-down-by-a-slow-river-and-stare-at-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/tell-me-what-is-it-you-plan-to-do-with-your-one-wild-and-precious-life/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“All important ideas must include the trees, the mountains, and the rivers. • To understand many things you must reach out of your own condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/all-important-ideas-must-include-the-trees-the-mountains-and-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Sometimes I think, were I just a little rougher made, I would go altogether to the woods—to my work entirely, and solitude, a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/sometimes-i-think-were-i-just-a-little-rougher-made-i-would-go/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“First Snow The snow began here this morning and all day continued, its white rhetoric everywhere calling us back to why, how, whence such beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/first-snow-the-snow-began-here-this-morning-and-all-day-continued-its/) [mary oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“What can I say that I have not said before? So I’ll say it again. The leaf has a song in it. Stone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/what-can-i-say-that-i-have-not-said-before-so-i-ll-say-it-again-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The sea is the most beautiful face in our universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/the-sea-is-the-most-beautiful-face-in-our-universe/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [There is nothing better than work. Work is also play; children know that. Children play earnestly as if it were work. But people grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/there-is-nothing-better-than-work-work-is-also-play-children-know/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“What will you do with your one precious, wild life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/what-will-you-do-with-your-one-precious-wild-life/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Poetry is a life-cherishing force. 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So as much as I possibly could, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/we-all-have-a-hungry-heart-and-one-of-the-things-we-hunger-for-is/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) [Explore all 470 Mary Oliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) ## More Aboard quotes > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [This is your captain speaking. Welcome aboard flight...one, from...here to there. 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Everybody going around like they know how to sail but there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donal-o-callaghan/we-re-all-the-same-we-all-want-the-same-thing-in-life-everybody-going/) [Donal O'Callaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donal-o-callaghan/) > [Hurry, get on board, it's comin', listen to those rails a-thrumming all aboard. Get on the "A" train, soon you will be on Sugar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/hurry-get-on-board-it-s-comin-listen-to-those-rails-a-thrumming-all/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Blessed are they who in this sea of frailty, climb aboard a piece of ass as it floats by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-donleavy-2/blessed-are-they-who-in-this-sea-of-frailty-climb-aboard-a-piece-of/) [J. P. Donleavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-donleavy-2/) > [“Every Captain is a king aboard his own ship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/every-captain-is-a-king-aboard-his-own-ship/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Every soul aboard stood at the bulwarks or on the seats of the steamer and stared at that distant shape, higher than the trees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/every-soul-aboard-stood-at-the-bulwarks-or-on-the-seats-of-the/) [H.G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells-2/) > [“You bring joy and pain in equal measure- come aboard if your destination is oblivion. It should be our next stop. 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