The Road Not Taken

The first time I was aware of Robert Frost’s Road Not Taken was when Cathy Clinton recited it to me on a sunny May afternoon on my first camino in 2005, somewhere in the woods between Samos and Sarria. The next time I heard it was almost as soon as I returned to the UK. 

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.

The next time I heard Frost’s poem was when I met up with Brian my father and I described my journey from Roncesvalles to Santiago.  I told stories about the foolish Dutchman who took advantage of free wine fountain, hanging out with Columbia Cook the eccentric English ecclesiastical architect, and being the victim of a German practical joke.  I also focussed on how this walk had had a significant impact on my mental well being.  He now tells me that talked almost non stop for 5 hours.  Maybe I did, but I come from long line exaggerators and embroiders. When I finished my tale he recited The Road Not Taken. It was strange that he should choose that poem

It’s amazing how a 500 mile, 31day stroll through the Spanish countryside can be life-altering: you begin to appreciate simple joys like clean air, fresh wholesome food and mundane stories. You live a relatively simple life where you carry everything you need on your back, sleep in overcrowded dormitories with up to 50 other pilgrims and share food with people who you may have met an hour earlier. 

You also start to embrace hope. That walk brought out the best in me and taught me that the road less travelled was certainly worth taking.