3 Poems

1. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

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.

This was my favorite poem of the three. I particularly liked how the poem managed to have a serious tone yet still rhyme. Though this was the first poem I had read with the this rhythm. The first line in each stanza rhymes with the third and fourth lines, and the second line rhymes with the fifth. I found this very interesting.

I think the poem is talking about life, and how each decision we make or life course we take is like a fork in a road. Each choice can completely change our direction in life.

2. Messy Room by Shel Silverstein

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!

This poem is more of a joke than something emotional. It is told by a person who walks into a room, sees what a mess it is, and starts criticizing the owner, only to find its his room.

I think this shows a human tendency to assign blame to others rather than accept ourselves as the source of the problem.

3. Brown Penny by William Butler Yeats

I WHISPERED, 'I am too young,'
And then, 'I am old enough';
Wherefore I threw a penny
To find out if I might love.
'Go and love, go and love, young man,
If the lady be young and fair.'
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
I am looped in the loops of her hair.
O love is the crooked thing,
There is nobody wise enough
To find out all that is in it,
For he would be thinking of love
Till the stars had run away
And the shadows eaten the moon.
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
One cannot begin it too soon.


This is a love poem. Not about someone but love itself. It tells of a young man who is contemplating whether to find love. It then talks about how complex and "crooked" love is. It ends by saying "One cannot begin it too soon."

I think the poem is saying love should not be planned.