A good friend of mine from high school shared the story behind Robert Frost’s famous poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”
Frost had been working on another poem all night that hadn’t panned out. At sunrise, invigorated by his efforts, his most famous poem came to him quickly. Here it is (below). Frost spoke accurately about the gift poetry can provide for all of us – “remember what you didn’t know you knew.”
Thank you, Robert Frost, and thank you, William:
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.