“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
I'll stop and sit by the riverside
with my back turned to the sun,
And recall all the places I've seen
since my travelling days begun.
I will record the best memories
for when my journeys are done,
But I will not dwell on the future
which holds the days yet to come.
Sometimes these legs become so weary
it makes it hard to go one;
Then, again, when I look around me,
I am not where I belong.
I'll grit my teeth and I'll move ahead
while humming a marching song;
I am sure I'll find a resting place
before this day is near done.
Tomorrow I will rise with the sun
and move once more down the road,
I'll pray good blessings will follow me
long before I grow too old.
I know there will be a price to pay
for shelter when I was cold
And for all the many morsels shared,
As is the travellers code.
When you read this I'll be at my rest,
in a garden I'm interred,
And for all the roads that I have walked
it was the journey I served.
If you should decide to travel on,
have no fear and rest assured
You'll find much more beauty than e'er known;
take that as my promised word.
Categories:
travelled, adventure, life,
Form: Rhyme
No road is lonelier than the one
You chose to travel on your own
Making you miss out on life fun
Even where love’s light has shone
Time to restart that life’s Journey
Life road is the journey now I see
Categories:
travelled, absence, adventure, journey, life,
Form: Verse
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
Good Riddance to a smoky city
The smog filled streets and the shoddy piety
It looked like the Gods never visited the country, this part
And every nook and corner was a smudge in an artists art!
Morning walks had stopped long enough
And evening exercises were just spoken in a huff….and a puff
Every mans greed was now out in the open
That nothing but money could please, was often spoken
This city had gone from Green to polluted
And every living being here had started getting dreams diluted
Not eve n the gardens were spared
No elderly person was ever here going to be cared
For as blind as every responsible person here could get
Nobody here believed in a breathable environment to set….
That an Art Museum adorned the City Centre, as a matter of fact
And some madman said that this monument could only act….
As an enriching business, making the City a star
But now it looks like a piece of War….
Between the Government that assured the people a smart zone
And every rich-wanna-be decided to clone
By joining hands with the “Government” – thus getting their hands Dirty
Making every living soul in that City – Burn in these streets of pity!
Categories:
travelled, 6th grade, city, depression,
Form: Rhyme
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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