Part 2: Personal Collection of Poems: The Road Not Taken

2) “The Road Not Taken” –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’ve liked this poem since the first time I read it in sixth grade. One thing I really like about this poem is the descriptions of the different roads and how it is able to capture that feeling of being torn between the easy way out and the more difficult route that may be more rewarding in the end. I also like the peace and calmness about the poem, and for me, it reflects how the narrator doesn’t regret taking the road “less traveled by.”

I think this poem holds an important lesion about how it is not always the best thing to just go along with everyone else. It seems like there is a point in everyone’s life where they’re at a crossroads—whether they know it or not—where they can either go along with the majority and give in to expectations, or go their own way. Even though the road may be more challenging, it can make all the difference like the narrator says. I think the message of this poem not only makes it relatable, but also timeless.



Frost, Robert. “The Road Not Taken.” A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children. Caroline Kennedy. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children, 2005. 22.