Poetry used to bore me completely in high school, mainly due to the fact it was all about the end goal. Picking apart the structural intricacies but never truly understanding the meaning behind it. Most also viewed it in a derogatory manner because it is seen as emasculating to express emotion.
I began picking it up recently, and feel I can deeply connect to certain poems. As they can express my own emotions far more eloquently.
Although I haven't read many, here is my favourite so far:
The Road Not Taken
By Robert Frost
It's a very ironic poem because it deliberately contradicts itself constantly. How each decision is thoughtful, but really it was an arbitrary one that really didn't matter at all.
It also emphasises, each path we take immediately extinguishes the one we think is parallel. We cannot understand how one decision would change our lives for the better, and so there is no need to dwell on it.
Personally, I struggle a lot with anxiety over the future, the pressure I put on myself causes this. But this poem is stoic, and each time I recite it, I instantly relax. I try to enjoy my current road for all its tribulations.
What do you think of this poem? Do you have a favourite?
