Best Travelled Poems
POTD 23 Mar 2024
THE PATH WELL TRAVELLED.
Two paths diverged, and I was thrown by doubts I had never known
To my left, thickly overgrown, was a path to dismal dimness prone.
To my right, a lovely sight-fragrant flora flamed in light
Forms so graceful, beauty rare, a wonderous vision beyond compare.
Both seduced with equal right, torn was I between dark and light.
Resisting limits of time and sight, a liminal border of cosmic might.
Hesitancy rapt with fear and doubt, the pondering heart beat aloud.
Tempting was the path so grand, but instinct cautioned of a treacherous hand.
A feathery touch, a breeze stirred, and in its sigh, a voice I heard.
Was it Hecate who whispered?
"Take heed. Beware, for each path leads to a different lair."
Crystal clarity knew what I must do, and with a heart filled with valour true,
Joyously, I strode wild and free down the well-trodden path ahead of me.
The leaves, like frisking lovers, played as I embarked my chosen way.
Future paths ~ So many dreams ~ Each a thread in life's grand scheme.
Though true discovery lay in paths, I'd roam ~
The one well travelled always led back Home.
By Maria Williams ©
Greeks worshipped Hecate as a guardian and gatekeeper who could ward off evil forces. She is often represented carrying a torch and a key and standing on the liminal border between one place and another. She bears three heads and always has a dog by her side.
Inspired by Robert Frost's 'The Road Not Taken', I chose to write an alternative version.
'The Road Not Taken' is one of Robert Frost's most famous poems. It's natural and understandable that many readers take the poem to be Frost's statement of individualism as a poet: he will take 'the road less travelled'.
The metaphor of the road is one that immediately evokes a journey, not just of the local or day-to-day kind, but of the life-defining sort: life as a journey, with many roads which we must travel along, and with many alternative paths which we must choose between.
POTD 23 March 2024
Categories:
travelled, inspirational, journey, life, metaphor,
Form:
Rhyme
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood….”
Robert,
You let the split remain unresolved,
and while we stand in awe,
staring at your crossroads
etched in gold and shadow,
do you ever wonder
what lay beyond the path
you did not take?
Even though you say,
“I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Did the road arch upward,
an unfamiliar melody on the wind?
Or did it tumble into brambles,
a half-forgotten warning?
Even now I see your boots----
Mud-caked, maple-tinged-----
pausing at the edge.
Here’s my advice, if you allow it:
Don’t linger too long
in the pondering.
Step once more
into the thicket, the gravel,
the unknown blaze of paths.
And when your pen hesitates,
push it further
to sketch the forest where both trails end-----
or perhaps where they entwine,
branches brushing like old friends.
Some questions don’t need answers,
but oh, how they crave
a different kind of wandering.
Regarding Robert Frost’s famous poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’.
Categories:
travelled, friend, imagery, imagination, metaphor,
Form:
Free verse
It's conventional thinking unravelled,
Waiting on the horns of a dilemma
With brand new ideas : the road less travelled,
Takes me back to sixty-five – the summer.
Exams completed, leaving school behind,
I took a different route from friends and peers.
Engineering was what I had in mind
Instead of academic based careers.
An ad. in local paper caught my eye :
“Electrical Apprenticeship. 5-year
Sandwich Course, Electricity Supply”,
Leading to electrical engineer.
Yes. I took a less frequented pathway
And followed it to where I am today.
Categories:
travelled, career, school, youth,
Form:
Sonnet
Sitting idle on a cooler afternoon
A window seat’d forest view
Spotted sunlight through the changing leaves
Entranced me, a waking vision’s swoon,
My life, time lapsed, on the dirty glaze,
Was a B-movie, rated yawn,
Just an endless melted reel,
Wasted moments, missing days,
Flying by, a startled dove,
Risen from a hawkers creel,
Shivered heart, stunted soul,
Oil slick on my sea of love,
Mayhaps a higher truth will tell,
If any good came of my time,
But as I rouse from my cramping trance,
My self inducing dose of hell,
I sit on the fulcrum, a well worn fence,
And think about roads ahead,
Only I can determine which far off shore,
The boatman had carried me whence,
But I’ll be damned if I can keep it straight,
With so much whiskey on the lips,
Roll the dice, I’ve seen enough,
I’ll ride singing through that black gate!
Categories:
travelled, addiction, life,
Form:
Rhyme
Many moons and many seasons have passed
since you journeyed faraway to alien shores without a word from you,
save a portrait of yourself clad in fine linen.
Every night, I see you in my dreams in scarlet silk standing by the beach,
waiting for that bespectacled Snowman.
My dream turns to nightmare waking to the sobering thought that you might forget me
and Telemachus you left behind...
So,
I wanted to write you a letter
to tell you
how I feel about this sickening thought in my head
that you may know
I have been in the blue since the day you departed from me;
the thought of you strikes me like the flash of lightning;
yet, my heart only yearns for you
I wanted to write you a letter
to remind you
of our halcyon days
of how enraptured we were walking hand-in-hand through the harvest fields at sunset
of the vows we made on moonlit nights
of the dreams we hope to accomplish
and of Death—the debt that all men must pay
I wanted to write you a letter
to ask you
how oftentimes do you see me in your dreams as I see you in mine?
Do you pause a minute to think of me if I cross your mind?
Or have you completely erased me from your memory?
And you should, please, tell me that I may not tarry in vain orchestrating my own doom
like Narcissus
Or my wailings like Cassandra’s unheeded cries;
that I may know when you will be coming home to break this deafening silence
of your absence
that this anguish, this cold within me may vanish...
But,
when I gaze at your portrait on my table as I sit to commune with my Muse;
though I search vehemently, still, I cannot find those befitting words
to write this letter
I wanted to write to you.
I quit.
Categories:
travelled, heartbreak,
Form:
Free verse
They travelled from near and far
To stand beneath the shining star.
The light of a hundred suns
Greets the child,the only one.
For three wise men,a sacred guide,
For simple sheperds,a sacred guide.
Seemed like a dream to them,
A baby bron in Bethlehem,
As in a stable in humble hands,
Lies a child,the son of man.
Categories:
travelled, faith,
Form:
Verse
When given the choice of what road to take,
Sometimes I choose right; sometimes I mistake,
But I go forth with a smile and a laugh
On my journey down the less beaten path.
That road travelled by many before
Is the passage I most likely ignore.
I journey ahead with no directions or map
Always going forward and never turning back.
Sometimes I end up in a place unknown;
Sometimes twists and turns I’ve been thrown,
But always excitement accompanies me
On my life’s amazing journey.
This isn’t the lifestyle for the mild or the meek;
For those who need structure this journey is bleak,
But then, if this philosophy worked for everyone,
The road less travelled would be the most travelled one.
So, follow the crowd if that’s what suits you,
Perhaps we will meet up again;
I’ll take the path followed by few
Wondering where it will end.
By, Joe Flach
Categories:
travelled, adventurejourney,
Form:
Rhyme
The Road Most Travelled
Like a nerve trapped in a shoulder
or a bird stuck in a cage,
Or a fly caught in a web
Oh my soul, it dreams of escape.
Somewhere beyond my inner walls
Beyond the lies and hate
Take me to my inner peace
Take, take me through the gate
Take me to the place
The place where I used to smile
The road most travelled,
is paved with self doubt
The demons in a troubled soul
Will drag you straight to hell
I look inside my subconcious
To find the things that I loathe
There must be more than the empty glass
Something more, something more to hold
Pain of frustration grew like a reservoir;
Boiling from within
Disappointments are stacking up
They keep the pressure up
I cannot find that place where I smile
The road most travelled,
is paved with self doubt
The demons in a troubled soul
Will drag you straight to hell
Somewhere beyond my inner walls
Beyond the lies and hate
Take me to my inner peace
Take, take me through the gate
Take me to the place
The place where I used to smile
The road most travelled,
is paved with self doubt
The demons in this troubled soul
Can drag itself back to hell
Categories:
travelled, anxiety, depression, sad,
Form:
Lyric
The least travelled road
I have travelled many a lone and winding road,
upon which I have carried many a burdensome load.
You have made conscious of – the life I did live
and made me realize, the strife in me, you give
life to, and I suffer through, when I become conscious,
that much, I have missed - there is you, there is me, but no us.
There seems to be no way for me to recover,
to find a way, to get up, to get out and discover
if there could be more to this life ?, for a man like me
and if there is ?, - what chance is there for me to see ?
B. J. “A” 2
December 21st 2008
Categories:
travelled, travel,
Form:
Rhyme
A wave of depression hit me down in Hope Street.
Hair stood up on end, on a shortcut down Barber's Lane.
Got a no-go from a cash machine, brooding in Bank Street.
Bought some pharmaceuticals, trippin' down the High Street.
Caught a nasty virus, browsing down Microsoft Way.
People mean an' nasty - livin' down Friendly Street.
Get a lot of funny looks strollin' down Queen Street.
Just a lot of concrete, nothing grows in Park Lane.
Fell down an' hit my crown - slippery in King Street.
My mind went blank, stumbling down Memory Lane.
Ain't got no soul, the residents of Shoe Lane.
Shops are all closed downtown in Commercial Street.
Couldn't get a Doctor - even down in Doctors Row.
Felt so weak an' powerless, shivering in Strong Street.
Don't know if there's such a thing as Easy Street.
Felt a little lonely, solo down lover's Lane.
Heard a blues band playin', blowin' down Tobacco road.
Carrying a lot of baggage, struggling down Porter's Way.
Barking up the wrong tree, down Chestnut Avenue.
I took a wrong turning, heading down the road to Hell.
Categories:
travelled, life,
Form:
Blank verse
A loyal friendship is like a well travelled ship that has weathered many storms.
Categories:
travelled, friendship love,
Form:
Monoku
From Pop Idol to American Idol, the Journey Across the Pond was Worth the Trip.
From the X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent to AGT, the Road has been long and Ever Winding.
Though while walking the streets of Lambeth, and playing in the school yard in Elstree seems like a distant Fond Memory.
You Spent long days at Radlett and later developed a keen intellect at Dover College.
From EMI to Fanfare Records you further developed your Musical Genius and Style at BMG and S Records.
Though I think that the role which will encapsulate the Rest of Your Life, and be Most Fulfilling came to Fruition on February 14, in 2014 with the birth of Your Son Eric.
I Read that you Broke your back, which I can only imagine is very painful.
I know that this is not a Poem, or very Artistic, but I wanted to write to say as a Music and Talent Fan, Thank you.
I Wish for you God’s Richest blessing in the future.
May his Grace, Love, Peace and Understanding abide with You Always.
God Bless,
Sincerely
One of Many Fans
Author Paul Cumberbatch ( September 2nd, 2020)
Categories:
travelled, baby, beautiful, birth, blessing,
Form:
Free verse
Timetable truency
Floods mind fluency
13th August 2020
For Sponsor: Line Gauthier
Ziket Contest
(first line maximum eight syllables,
second line maximum five)
Categories:
travelled, inspiration, pain, recovery from,
Form:
Footle
Thoughts can keep you down
Pushing you deeper into despair
Thoughts can keep you focused
Allowing you to hold onto your dream
Believe and you can receive
Achieve and grow
While you show the power of your thinking
Remain humble and
If you do stumble
Don’t forget to get up again!
Circumstances will often train us
For our greater purpose but first
We need to understand the power of our thoughts
Thoughts can keep you down
Pushing you deeper into despair
Thoughts can keep you focused
Allowing you to hold onto your dream
Mark Frank
Copyright 2023
Categories:
travelled, life,
Form:
Free verse
Once there was an adventurous Pixie,
Who lived in deep south Dixie.
He wasn't black,
So he had to go back
Now he's a travelling Gypsy.
Categories:
travelled, 10th grade,
Form:
Limerick