by Shannon Fox
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Shannon Fox - Author 
Ahh, I remember studying this in high school. It’s a shame we were all too young and foolish to appreciate it back then….
I suppose as long as we come to some level of appreciation eventually, it doesn’t really matter. Everyone is young and foolish- it only matters when (and if) you stop being that way. I guess that’s wisdom, huh?
Hhahahaa true, that is wisdom and experience. I have found myself appreciating a lot of poetry and literature a lot more since I do it in my time and at my own pace, without the deadlines for analytical essays hovering over my head! 😛 I have been thinking a lot this month that I need to buy more collections of poetry, particularly by specific poets. 🙂
I recommend Juliana Spahr’s, “The Connection of Everything With Lungs”…one of my absolute favorites. Not really a collection, but more of a book length poem…very beautiful and thoughtful.
This has always been one of my favourite poems. Brings a tear to my eye whenever I read it. It’s message is one I try to live my life by… as well as the quote below from T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock”
Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”
Let us go and make our visit.
A cracking poem – good choice.
I love that line, “I have measured out my life in coffee spoons”. I’ll have to feature some T.S. Elliot up here soon! Thanks for reminding me! I see some Wasteland in Isleofbooks future…and some lolcat wasteland…check it out if you haven’t!
great poem…one of my favorites!
Beautiful poem 🙂
It might sound funny, but in grade 8 choir, we sang this poem… I can still remember how it sounds, and that’s why I know the poem off by heart.
That sounds amazing!
Love This Piece
DarkJade-
One of my favorite poems of all time. I’ve seriously contemplated having the whole thing tattooed on my back.
That would be pretty awesome!
It’s nice to be reminded of this popular poem =)
I once read a quote that said something like Life is like a game of chess – every choice a narrowing. You begin with all the possibilities… but as it goes on, the options narrow, until what you have left is the sum of all the moves you have made and all the possibilities taken.
That was some terrible paraphrasing. 🙂 But this poem reminds me of that – that way leads on to way, and though we have almost infinite options at the beginning, when we take one path we lose another.
Which makes me wonder… have I taken the path less traveled by? And is that what I wanted?
I like that quote…or the paraphrasing of it anyway 🙂
Nice post. My favorite poem is One of Shelley’s