- description
- # The Stone Fleet. An Old Sailor’s Lament.
## Overview
This is a segment of poetry titled "The Stone Fleet. An Old Sailor's Lament." It was extracted from the file `battle_pieces_and_aspects_of_the_war.txt` on January 30, 2026. The poem is dated December 1861.
## Context
"The Stone Fleet. An Old Sailor's Lament." is part of the larger collection [Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War.](arke:01KG8AJ6FNQ0XKWBY52P8DRPC9), a work by Herman Melville. This collection is contained within the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. This segment follows the poem "Dupont’s Round Fight." and precedes "The Old Stone Fleet."
## Contents
The poem expresses a sailor's lament for old ships, describing them as "worn and ancient" with "great bluff bows, and broad in the beam." The speaker reflects on the obsolescence of these vessels, lamenting that they were "unkindly done" and served the "Obsolete." The text includes lines such as "I have a feeling for those ships" and "Ay, it was unkindly done."
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:21.081Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- The Stone Fleet. An Old Sailor’s Lament.
- end_line
- 448
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:35.910Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 436
- text
- The Stone Fleet.[2]
An Old Sailor’s Lament.
(December, 1861.)
I have a feeling for those ships,
Each worn and ancient one,
With great bluff bows, and broad in the beam;
Ay, it was unkindly done.
But so they serve the Obsolete--
Even so, Stone Fleet!
You’ll say I’m doting; do but think
- title
- The Stone Fleet.
An Old Sailor’s Lament.