This One Sneaks Up On You

Vik RubenfeldPoem1 Comment

This one sneaks up on you and then delivers a really powerful emotional insight in the last lines.  It’s by Robert Frost. It doesn’t matter what it’s called – the title’s just a fakeout so you won’t see the end of it coming. (It’s called “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”). At first it seems like it’s very tame, very calm, very quiet. He’s talking about what his horse is thinking. And then…

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.

Do you feel that? It’s quite powerful, is it not?

One Comment on “This One Sneaks Up On You”

  1. Pingback: “Acquainted with the Night” – Big Emotional Insight from Robert Frost | Vik Rubenfeld Author Blog

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