Poems

The Road Not Taken by: Robert Frost

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 chose this poem because I believe it to be about something everyone has to deal with, choices. We all have important decisions to make everyday. Those choices define who we are. I usually don't read a lot of poetry, but this seemed to be about something I can easily relate to.

I think this poem relates to choices in life. We are always presented with decisions. We can either choose the path everyone else takes, or we can take the "one less traveled" and make our own path. In the fourth line, the author refers to us looking at the consequences beyond our choices for each path. Parts of the poem also could be about us looking back at previous choices and wondering if we made the right decisions.

A Dream within a Dream by: Edgar Allan Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow-

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone?

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand-

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep- while I weep!

O God! can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

I chose this poem because of the emotion the author is showing. The words he chose express passion. I am able to sense the grief the author feels through his words. The poem is easy to read and the words flow well together. It also seemed to be very personal.

I believe this poem is about the author's loss of someone he loved. It seems that he wanted this life to be a dream so he could maybe wake up and be next to the one he loved. I think when he says "surf-tormented shore", he might be referring to himself being surrounded by death or sadness. He also seemed to feel like he could not save anyone from "the pitiless wave", which I believe meant death. He seemed very sad and lost within all the grief he had to deal with.