Poem: "The Road More Traveled"
This poem came out of the November 2, 2010 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by aldersprig. It was sponsored by xjenavivex as part of the 2010 Holiday Poetry Sale. Thank you, and happy holidays!
The Road More Traveled
The road stretches endlessly toward the horizon,
worn by generations of feet and hooves and wheels.
The dust of the road and the stones of the road
are older than dirt.
The sides of the road are littered with objects
lost along the way or deliberately discarded.
Horseshoe nails and horseshoes,
buckles and bits and coins, loose screws,
food tins, wedding rings, pocket knives,
dog collars and doll clothes --
the detritus of thousands of lives
lies here beside the road more traveled.
Here too lie the memories and the memes,
beliefs abandoned for better ideas,
things that deserve to be forgotten,
old arguments buried like hatchets,
dragon's teeth scattered on stones never to spawn,
thoughtshards of interest only to archaeologists and philosophers.
Mixed among the old are figments of the new:
flower spikes spearing upward through the dust
to open their delicate purple bells above the stones,
baby rabbits nestled in softly rotted cotton,
bright-eyed sparrows fledging from broken wagons,
epiphanies as splendid as sunrises.
The historian walks this road to learn where it has led.
The futurist walks this road to imagine where else we could go.
The poet walks this road to distill inspiration from memory.
They walk hand in hand, humming,
and the road more traveled reveals itself
not through the destination but through the journey.