![]() I’ve tried the new moon tilted in the air The Freedom of the Moon (West-Running Brook, 1928) As part of a large family, it must have been both wondrous and in a way, disheartening, to see the mountain home from his childhood once again returned to meadows and forests after being left behind years before.Ĩ. As a young man he witnessed the birth of the electric power grid, the impact of the industrial revolution on society and the growing transition from rural to urban life for a majority of Americans. (No girl’s, of course, has stayed the same.)Īs nostalgic and otherworldly as it may be for us to go back and visit the place or places we grew up, it was even more so for the generation that Robert Frost belonged to. The Birthplace (West-Running Brook, 1928) For me, his philosophical poetry, when done through the medium of simple observations, speaks volumes about his true insights into the nature that is within, and around, us all.ĩ. He lets us know that patience truly is a virtue, and often, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The permanence and tranquility of the heavens, especially when contrasted to the chaos that makes up the human world, is reason enough to relax, and enjoy it. This poem, like many of Frost’s, is about his observations of the natural world around him. That calm seems certainly safe to last to-night. On his particular time and personal sight. In hopes of seeing the calm of heaven break Still it wouldn’t reward the watcher to stay awake The longest peace in China will end in strife. It is true the longest drought will end in rain, We may as well go patiently on with our life,Īnd look elsewhere than to stars and moon and sunįor the shocks and changes we need to keep us sane. The planets seem to interfere in their curvesīut nothing ever happens, no harm is done. ![]() Nor strike out fire from each other nor crash out loud. The sun and moon get crossed, but they never touch, To happen in heaven beyond the floats of cloudĪnd the Northern Lights that run like tingling nerves. You’ll wait a long, long time for anything much On Looking Up By Chance At The Constellations (West-Running Brook, 1928) His complete works can be accessed on the Internet Archive here.ġ0. I present them here in order of beauty and wonder, as I see them. Instead, I have listed here what I consider to be ten of his greatest lesser-known poems, which you may not have ever read. This list does not contain either of these these two gems, nor will you find other popular Frost works, such as ‘Fire and Ice,’ ‘Acquainted With The Night,’ or ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’- although if you have never heard of these I suggest you peruse them at your earliest convenience. Some of his more popular poems, such as ‘Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening’ and ‘The Road Not Taken’ have led more poets to read and appreciate formal metered poetry than almost all of his contemporaries, including Ezra Pound and Edward Thomas, both of whom were close friends of Frost. Robert Frost is arguably the greatest poet to emerge during the early part of the 20th century, and his works are now taught, analyzed, dissected, and discussed in learning institutions world-wide. He died of surgical complications two years later, at the age of 88. “poet laureate” he was a special guest at the inauguration of President John F. During his later life he earned four Pulitzer Prizes, and as the unofficial U.S. He spent his first 40 years mostly unknown, and it wasn’t until after returning to the United States from England-where he had his first two books of poetry published-near the beginning of the first World War, that he was truly recognized by the publishing world as the talented word-smith he was. The American poet Robert Frost was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, CA.
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