Choose Your Own Adventure
Robert Frost Style
A different interpretation of "The Road Not Taken"
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood . . ."
Adventure Choice 1:
I took the road more traveled.
While I wasn’t sure this was the right choice,
the road was well-worn and familiar,
As it was the path recommended to me by all I knew.
Each fork in the road was clearly marked,
And signs along the way let me know which way to go.
Smooth.
Rest stops and markers warned me how much longer the path would go.
Well paved.
Lights marking the way in the dark.
Companions along the way who appeared to care about my journey.
Yet, each step I took I felt less and less real
But instead, just marching in step with everyone else.
I was taking a path I knew would lead to a future clearly defined,
But I didn’t know if that was a future I wanted,
But was it too late to turn back now?
Scared to undo all my walking, I regretfully moved forward with the crowd.
Adventure Choice 2:
I took the road less traveled.
I wasn’t sure if this was the right choice,
And every indication proved I might be right.
Branches occasionally leaned into the walkway,
Forcing me into the loose pebbles along the way.
Potholes and tree roots populated the path.
The path seemed to dead end, and only with careful inspection,
To the right, I saw a small deer track,
Where these creatures had separated the grasses, matting their stalks into the mud.
I crouched and squat-walked under the tree limbs, uncertain the route.
Leaves stuck in my hair, and spider webs brushed my cheeks.
Darkness came, and only the moon highlighted the route,
My companions the crickets and cicadas, coyote cries, and owl songs.
Alone, I wondered why I had taken this path.
Regret filled my heart.
I twisted my ankle on an unexpected rock.
Looking desperately around for a stick,
I hobbled forward, one painful step at a time.
It was true that on this path I was gloriously free to go my own way,
that the lack of human companions allowed me to hear the wind dancing in the leaves,
but did I even know where the path was as it often was hidden?
Did I make the right choice? It could make all the difference.
Adventure Choice 3:
I didn’t know which path to take.
I sat with such indecision and fear that I would make the wrong choice
That, instead, I went back home and turned on Netflix.
Adventure Choice 4:
I didn’t know which path to take.
I was filled with indecision and fear.
I re-read Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.”
I read the words in the last stanza:
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 realized that no matter what road I took,
I might tell this with a sigh, with perhaps wonder about the other road.
Each choice may make all the difference—
Not because one was right and one was wrong,
But because either path would make a difference in me,
Would alter who I was,
Would change the view of the world I had.
Regardless of the choice, I couldn’t see the future.
I couldn’t predict the difference it would make.
I could only do the best I could in this situation
And being confident in myself and my own ability to learn on any road,
I picked one—without guilt, fear, or concern that I was doing the wrong thing.
No regrets. No second-guessing.
A decision to enjoy the present.
I skipped down the path, enjoying the yellow wood,
Winding along,
Following the moonbeams and stars when my path was unclear.
And that realization has made all the difference.
