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The Subtle Seduction of the Path Not Taken
by Rusty C Arquette
Its too easy
too damn easy
to stand at that fork
that well known
not so worn fork
and gaze with
a certain melancholy
down its distance
down that shady path
there in the shadows
where the earth hangs
wet and fertile
in my nostrils
like musky perfume
my own mockery
intoxicates
I stand and wonder
and sigh
and pine
for that which
might have been
taking perpetual inventory
of what has come to pass
finding myself adrift
among the greenery
that grows thick
around the next bend
hearing it calling
gently pulling..
at that part of me
that questions
that piece of me
that will always ask
what if?
now trapped
forever wound up
in what might have been
this poor
little frailty, me
I said this wouldnt happen
yet who was I kidding?
when it comes to what was
and what is
there is no rest,
no forgetting,
I can never be content
always to be swayed
always to be taken in
by the subtle seduction
of the path not taken
11/11/2005 Author's Note: With a tip of the hat to Robert Frost...more reflections from someone with too much time on his hands...
Posted on 11/11/2005
Copyright © 2025 Rusty C Arquette
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 11/11/05 at 07:43 PM The roads we take can only reveal themselves as we travel them. Our future is hidden and every road serves a purpose. It's so "in us" to look back, maybe we should look to just master staying ON a road. Great read, RCat. Thanks. |
| Posted by Elle O'Connor on 11/11/05 at 07:44 PM This was lovely, melancholy. How interesting it would be to be able to answer that question. |
| Posted by Charles E Minshall on 11/14/05 at 03:35 AM Ah yes all the what if's and glad they didn'ts...Charlie |
| Posted by Laura Doom on 11/14/05 at 11:25 PM Occasionally poetry can be surprisingly thrifty in conveying an exorbitant array of meanings. This is the antithesis - and perfectly conveys the nature of the 'what if' scenario, lingering, insidious, an impotent craving for the unattainable. (Or is it really just that 'too much time' thing? :) Delectable stuff. |
| Posted by Charles J Hannan on 11/16/05 at 12:16 AM A wonderful read indeed. A different side to your story telling. You never cease to amaze me Rusty. |
| Posted by Nicole D Gregory on 11/16/05 at 08:11 PM ... I love this! ~N |
| Posted by Rebecca Lin on 11/17/05 at 05:22 AM ah very nice emotions towards an already favorite poem of mine. |
| Posted by Michele Schottelkorb on 11/17/05 at 07:13 AM mr frost would be proud... i love the way your poetry flows with almost a beat... i needed to read this piece tonight... blessings and a nod for POTD... |
| Posted by Michele Schottelkorb on 11/18/05 at 08:13 AM oh wow, i am so happy to see this here... hooray for you, mr arquette, you SO deserve it... blessings :) |
| Posted by Charlie Morgan on 11/18/05 at 04:23 PM ...ahh, r-catski, my dear poet...congrats on this POTD thingee, do you need any help eating it?...ah the path taken, not taken...ol' robert's confused my arse since i first read in high school, he took the [lesser]
"Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same."
worn path or not so worn path...whichever, it made allll the difference...and he said later when he passed, he'd just sigh and [know--not dwell too long on it] and my man, you do this so much poetic justice...great flowing write, r-cat...peace, chaz |
| Posted by Charles E Minshall on 11/19/05 at 12:38 AM Congratulations for path of the day Rusty...Charlie |
| Posted by Gregory Oregon on 12/15/06 at 03:11 PM excellent bends and twists of words and rhythm. this is a lovely piece that clung to me as i traveled down its path with you. GOOD STUFFFFFFF! |
| Posted by Amy Wustrin on 08/14/08 at 05:21 PM why is it that when you look back behind you, no matter how far you've travelled, you can always catch a glimpse of that fork, and the moment of truth where you decided to lie to yourself and pretend you were better off not going the other way? Even when you knew you'd never forgive yourself? This was a remarkable read, thank you for posting it. |
| Posted by Richard Vince on 05/28/12 at 09:42 PM mm. great stuff. a lot of my poetry is about paths not taken about which i still wonder, so this really chimed with me. [by the way, i thought of Robert Frost before i got to the author's note - mainly because of the picture i think. :)] |
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