Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

                               

                    This poem "Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening" is written by one of my favorite poets, Robert Forst. The previous post "The Road Not Taken " was also written by him. The poem "Stopping by the Woods" was also a memorizing poem of my school days. I use to hate memorizing poems in my school days because they were long and were supposed to be written with each and every punctuation. But now, as I look back, these poems have left a deep impression on me.

                       In this poem, the poet is passing through the woods on a snowy evening. The whole of the woods is covered in snow. As he was passing through, he came upon a particular spot where he stood to stare. The poet knew to whom the place belonged, he was someone from the village probably the same as the poet. And there is no way for that man to find out that the poet was there at that time of the evening looking around his spot. It was quiet, peaceful, and there was no other sound in the woods apart from the winds of the snowy evening. As the poet stood gazing at the trees and the frozen lake, the stillness of it was brought into him the calmness and tranquility that was missing in his life outside these woods.

                       The more he looked at it, the more he desired to stay. It was the darkest evening of the year and he was deep in the woods. Yet, he thought the place looked lovely and welcoming. The place was charming him to linger longer, he was in fact being swayed by it. But then, his horse shook his harnessed bell. The horse might have wondered why they have stopped and what his master wanted in this strange place. For, there was nothing in sight for lodging or food, there was certainly not a farmhouse, nothing but thick snow. The horse it seems wants to know what was wrong. If they had taken a wrong route or did they need to turn around? He didn't know what has made his master stop at such a place. But, his harness bell awoke the poet from his trance. Though he desired with all his heart to stay or even spend more time in this solitude, he knew that he must move on.

                   

  For, beyond these woods, there was a life waiting for him. That life may not be as lovely. peaceful and calm as this wood, but still it was his life. There were responsibilities to fulfill and promises to keep. Promises he had made on his wedding day, promises to his children and to himself. He must move on before he can enjoy that calm and quietness he is longing for. He has got miles to go before he can rest and he has got miles to go before he can sleep forever. 

                                     This poem is an amazing contrast between our desires and responsibilities. There are lots of desires and longings in our lives, but our responsibilities to our loved ones are even greater. Whenever we desire to give up, give in and let go. It is the promises that we made and the responsibilities that we hold that push us forward and help us move on. As a mother of a young child, how I long to sleep a few more minutes on a cold winter morning after a long sleepless night. Yet, the thought of my child's hunger awakes me up and pushes me out of the bed to the morning routine (no matter how bored it is!). This is just a simple example, but this poem holds a deeper meaning relevant to each one of us, who have varied reasons to move forward and to press on. 

                     
         Sometimes our desires have to step aside to make way for our duties. Truly happy we shall be when we do it. For many in this generation give place for their own desires and forget the responsibilities that they hold and the promises that they made. But let us not be such a person. Though the woods are lovely, dark, and deep, let us move on, for we have miles to go before we sleep. WE HAVE MILES TO GO BEFORE WE SLEEP!