This poem is timeless, thought-provoking and simple.
I’ve written it countless times, and it never fails to make me think. This is calligraphy at its best – writing out a poem is a slow process where you have to consider the shape and flow of every word. The slowness of calligraphy lettering also allows time to reflect on the meaning of each line.
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.
I’ve been reading ‘Mindful Thoughts for Walkers: Footnotes on the Zen Path‘ by Adam Ford, a brilliant book for walkers which references Robert Frost’s poem – it’s interesting to see how often this piece is referenced elsewhere. I guess it means a lot to many people.
This poem is for sale in my Etsy shop for £49. Buy it here – https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/607720572