For a brief time during the pandemic, many of us wondered whether this moment of crisis might lead to a change of outlook and a less selfish, materialistic view of the world. Alas, we now know this did not happen. My response to Robert Frost’s famous The Road Not Taken tries to show a possibility lost:“Come into the garden, my darling, my darling,
For it is permitted at last!
For so long in my mind, I’ve been calling you, calling,
And willing the slow time to pass,
My whole body aching, my tears quietly falling,
In my yearning to hold you fast.And now I am here on the soft grass before you,
And there you are in your old place!
But I have to resist the urge to implore you
To reach out and touch my poor face;
All I’m aware of is this – I adore you,
I want you in my fierce embrace…The distance between us, a charged field of force,
Subatomic, with particles whirling:
A mighty river which must hold its course
Even over the cliff edge, hurling
Itself on the rocks; our once single source
Unravelled, as furled ferns uncurling…”
“Two roads fork in the gloomy forest
But how can we know where they will end,
Or hope to discover which one is best?
For we never have known, we have only guessed
What might lie beyond the shadowy bend.One seems to lead gently, down and around,
Easy to follow, through a well-known gate,
Taking us back to familiar ground;
It’s partly paved, with an echoing sound –
If we return, it may not be too late.The other winds steeply towards a great hill –
Rock-strewn the earth and fitful the light;
We pause, peering fearfully upwards, until
Our courage recoils and our minds are still –
Then the oncoming darkness hinders our sight.Two different roads but which one should we take?
Which road will help us at this time of change?
This is the dilemma that keeps us awake…
But our faltering hearts are loathe to forsake
The known and the narrow for the new and the strange.”