Monday, November 17, 2008

On second thought...


Let us examine this a little more closely. Perhaps Papy Biou’s photograph from yesterday’s post is not married to Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” which begins, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” after all. There are differences.

First of all, there is only one road in the photograph, not two roads. Second of all, the trees are green, not yellow. The season is obviously spring or summer, not autumn at all. But the flowers are yellow. Still, when I saw the photograph, my mind went immediately to Frost’s poem. But the season of the year, I think, is really immaterial.

I picture myself as the observer, standing at the very spot where the roads diverge. Two trails, two different destinations. One road, the route on my right, is not even part of the picture. When I turn my head, however, and look to my left, there is Papy’s road. The scene beckons to me. It is tantalizing. A variety of blues beyond the leaves hint of a calm lake, a rugged hill, a clear sky. I can see quite a distance down the road, all the way to the place where it bends in the undergrowth and continues on its way to a destination I will never know. Because I have chosen to take the other road, which is actually the less-traveled one, I may have missed something wonderful, something life-changing, something I may always be sorry I missed, if only I knew what it was. But I have made my choice. I turn to the right and take the other road with its own unique set of possibilities and destinations.

Life is like that. You can’t do it all. No one can. All you can do is make choices daily and hope for the best.

8 comments:

  1. I AM NOT ABLE TO HAVE EXPERIENCES THAT PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD ARE HAVING AND AT TIMES I AM ENVIOUS....WHY CAN'T I BE IN SHANGHI, IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL THeRE....NO IT REALLY IS...i guess god fills up our life with interesting but different things but amazingly we need it exactly that way....although i really do resent not being 21 and in hawaii right now...soryy for the caps but i'll be darned if i am going back...i am just too lazy

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  2. I'll share a little something that I was taught when I used to edit Literature textbooks. It's better for the illustrations that accompany literature to be evocative, not literal. That way the reader still has to do some mental work.

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  3. Nice, thoughtful post, Mr. B. Initially, I wrote a mini-essay in my comments but, fortunately, zapped it. The first sentence above is enough.

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  4. Thank you for commenting!

    Putz, each of us is unique, all right. As an old song went, "There will never ever be another you." I have never been to Shanghai so I'll have to take your word for its being so beautiful.

    Ruth, I will study the illustrations more closely in the future to see what they might evoke!

    Pat, surely you meant "unfortunately." I'm sorry I won't get to read your essay, mini or otherwise....

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  5. Very nice choice of a photo! I would like to climb right into the scene and take off down the road! Thank you....you're making me pine for summer again already!

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  6. Makes me think of C.S. Lewis' thought when he has Aslan the Lion explaining that we never are allowed to know what would have happened had we done things differently. We must just go forward - which is why it is a very good idea to do what we know is right in the first place. And if we don't know, or it isn't a matter of right or wrong, then once we choose, embrace our choice! Makes one much happier.

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  7. P.S. I have another true story you might enjoy on my blog.

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  8. oh, i always thought that song was , there will never be another ewe

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<b>Always true to you, darlin’, in my fashion</b>

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