The Third Road

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
and you think you know how this goes,
at thought, one would pass the less traveled,
Others, to one with less woes,

To tread is a choice one should make,
Is quite important, if not, to most,
So with a sigh, ponder... ponder...
to reach the utmost.

Weighing priorities; weighing... weighing...
The dilemma is but a period in life,
To choose one is to betray the other,
Deep within, a mind in strife.

Two roads diverged ahead your quest,
No rules say you must choose either.
Life is but one's own making,
So what I'd do is make another....

Reviews

[Mark]

Your poem has strong potential, Monster, but i feel its effedtiveness was marred by the repeatings of ponder and weighing in the second and third stanzas. It's as though you were stuck for a powerful, unique word, so you used a mundane one twice. This is of course only one man's opinion, but I am confident that, with a little more patience (and a good thesaurus!), this can be elevated from a pleasant verse to a truly moving poem.

[Monster ^.^]

Thank you very much!!! I have a tendency to do this, dragging a word twice. Maybe because I could imagine it echoing (the ellipses) and think it's kinda cool. Maybe next time I should do it with a powerful word instead of a mundane one, do you think that would work? Or should I just rid of that persistent habit? haha

[quinfinn]

i don't think Frost would have minded your vague references here....this is clever and thought provoking....which path indeed...it is up to the individual, n'est pas?

[Monster ^.^]

Indeed... and I doubt frost would notice at all XP hahaha

[quinfinn]

well, he is dead....good write!

[Monster ^.^]

Precisely ;)

and thanks! ;)

[KAOlmsted]

It certainly beats the alternative, which is turning around and going back the way you came. I like the sentiment here...why choose left or right or north or south or what have you simply because those are the only choices offered...make your own way, straight down the middle. Or wherever ;-) Good stuff here. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[Monster ^.^]

Yes, straight down the middle--cut the yellow wood off the path, haha! That would have been funny! Thank you K. :)

[KAOlmsted]

My pleasure ;-)

[eglantine]

Very enjoyable, I like the use of the semi-colon in the 3rd stanza. Nice insertion of Frost's poem. I'd use commas instead of ellipses in the third stanza. Thanks for sharing!

[Monster ^.^]

Thanks E, I really appreciate that :)

[angelina neves]

lovely!

[Monster ^.^]

Thanks! I'm glad you think so :)

[gombeggar]

yellow wood? is this a birch tree forest? ...otherwise nice writ

[Monster ^.^]

The contest says I must take a line from "The Road Less Traveled" and got the first line... anywhere would do, i suppose :) Thanks Mister Gom B.

[Rogue]

I like the way this is both written and worded. You did a great job with it. :)

Ornery Rogue question time though.. (uh oh, I know. :D )
Ready?
If you make a new road, will it branch off the well worn path or the one less traveled? This in a sense being an extension of the original?

-smile-
I am not really teasing you here so much as this is just how my mind works. I am pretty sure I drove my parents nuts with "Why is the sky blue?" The whole year I was five. :)

[Monster ^.^]

:) I know!

Okay, here goes, I definitely think, it would be of much sense that we make the third road from the fork itself. Why? Because if I branched out from the well-worn path or the one less traveled, the poem would somehow lose some of its essence, since, well, you already "chose one of two paths" BEFORE making the decision of branching off.

And although that in itself is "making your own choices", I bet the gist of the entire thing is "making a third way"; like the title :D

Thanks for the thought provoking question! What an observant you are! ;D

[Toni]

I love this whole thing (:
But I love the First stanza and the last stanza the best.
I really, really like this one, very well thought out and planned, I'm semi-speechless.

[Monster ^.^]

Wow, thanks antonette, now, IM semi-speechless :))

[Toni]

:D Anytime C:

[Frieda P]

Frank Sinatra came to mind, I Did It My Way...! You did it your way, and this road less traveled has many thoughts along it's path. Nice one!

[Monster ^.^]

Hahaha! yep, that song and the poem mixed and blended XP hahaha

[Baby Ricochet]

The road less traveled. Nice

[Monster ^.^]

Thanks! and Yeah, it was inspired from that one :)

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

A spirited and greave place that relishes the reader, well done, good read.

[Monster ^.^]

Thank you Thomas :)