The Road Not Taken

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.

Robert Frost is the first person I think of when I think of poetry. My all time favorite poem is “The Road Not Taken” (the one I picked for poem of the day). I first encountered this poem in the 8^th grade. We were asked to memorize it for part of our reading class. I still have it memorized! I’m not exactly sure why, but it has stuck with me ever since.

As I learned in class, my interpretation was a bit off, but my opinion of the poem remains unchanged. The beauty in poetry is that everyone can have different interpretations that work for them. Not everyone will agree on a poems meaning. So, even though I had my prior thoughts on it, I was still able to soak in what was discussed in class. I think I even like the new meaning better! :)

Everyone travels down a path in life and not everyone picks the same one. Whether we go by the one less traveled or the one most commonly traveled, our life is impacted by the one we choose or don’t choose. This is where regrets can come into play. Personally, I try not to regret the path I’ve chosen and instead look for opportunities to go another way. I think it is important that people realize they can go back and choose another path; you don’t have to be stuck on the same one forever!

I also enjoyed reading Frost’s “Mending Wall”. I had read this one before but didn’t put too much thought into it. When I first read it, I had an “Aha” moment when seeing the phrase “good fences make good neighbors”. It was nice to see where this saying actually came from.

After analyzing “Mending Wall” I walked away with a totally different impression of “good fences make good neighbors”. It is rather funny to see how things are taken out of context and used over and over again. Knowing what Frost really meant makes the poem more understandable this time around.

I have definitely learned to look deeper at things and not just at the face value…..