When~
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,~
One brushed by a trickster~
The other a guardian spirit~
I took the path I felt had the chance~
Of finding a fox, don’t know why~
But dread drummed like the woodpeckers~
The further I looked down the trodden path~
Those saplings, stretching out their infant arms.~
So I came to your derelict patch~
Eyes roving~
Down the locks~
Through the black smiles of factories, forlorn~
When a voice found me:~
“Why do you search so deep for a trickster so ‘sly?’”~
“Because finding you means I’ve lost my way~
And taking the path you’re expected to take seems the worst trick of all!”~
Knowing the lesson was felt,~
The fox revealed itself~
With an eye that flashed the world in a line~
And an ear that tuned out the fuzz, even in this dead silence.
I love this. It sent me immediately to re-read The Thought Fox – rather The Road Not Taken. And yes, I see the connection with the latter but the emotions of Hughes’ poem are mirrored in your own piece. This has to be one of my favourites of all those you’ve shared with us 😊
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Thanks Sandra – I read a short anthology of poems that start with the first line of other poems and liked the idea of giving it a go.You’re right, I ended up sticking with some of the themes in Frost’s poem but the fox’s mysticism certainly draws on Hughes’ presentation in ‘the thought-fox’.
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I memorized The Road Not Taken in the eighth grade, but The Thought Fox is new to me. I enjoyed some poetry appreciation and your phrasing today, Thought Badger.
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I’ve got a bit of a weak spot for most of Ted Hughes’ poetry. The Thought Fox is a great poem for anyone else that writes – I guess it can be described as a meta poem – a piece of writing about the process of writing.
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