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.
Background
Robert Frost is an American poet. He was born on March 26, 1874. His work is celebrated for its adherence to language as it is actually spoken, in the psychological complexity of his portraits, and the layers of ambiguity and irony. He has received 4 Pulitzer Prizes for his work and is said to be unmatched in this regard against other poets. Robert represented the United States of America on many overseas engagements. He read his poem “The Gift Outright” at President John F. Kennedy inauguration on January 20, 1961. He died on January 23, 1963.
