Part of speech: noun

Definition: a ship or a large boat

Definition source: Merriam Webster

Found in Stanza 4 in ” My Boy Willie ”

Knowing the definition I learned that the speaker viewed vessel as a sense of hope during her different stages of grieving. through this stage she’s in denial but the seeing the vessel and the captain gives the women great hope, until she ask a question and receives an answer she was not hoping for.