Det här är en av mina favoritdikter av Crane.

För mig handlar den här dikten om strävan, drömmar och längtan och en ouppnåelig jakt. En jakt på vad? Till vilken nytta?

A man saw a ball of gold

 A man saw a ball of gold in the sky;
He climbed for it,
And eventually he achieved it --
It was clay.

Now this is the strange part:
When the man went to the earth
And looked again,
Lo, there was the ball of gold.
Now this is the strange part:
It was a ball of gold.
Aye, by the heavens, it was a ball of gold.