Miles to go before I sleep

American Poet Robert Frost wrote “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” in June 1922 at his Vermont home after an all-night writing session. The poem first appeared in print in The New Republic on March 7, 1923, before appearing in his Pulitzer Prize-winning collection, New Hampshire, later that year.

The poem describes a traveler in a horse-drawn carriage who is both driven by the need to get to his destination and transfixed by the wintry woods. The traveler contemplates the beauty of nature against his own obligations.

There’s no snow in sight. The temperatures near where I live have risen in recent weeks to the mid 60s, but I find I come back every Spring to this beautiful poem. My freshman year of college I came across this poem late one night before final exams. I had seen it plenty of times before, but this time it completely summed up my situation.

I so wanted to chuck everything. I wanted to give in to the moment. I wanted to order a pizza and a soda with my last $20 and say the “hell with it.” I wanted to watch the NBA or NHL playoffs and forget about even thinking about opening up a textbook. For the first time in a long time, I wanted to enjoy myself and not worry about grades or deadlines. I wanted to just be. Like Frost though, I was at the mercy of the moment. I had a lengthy list of obligations. I had papers to write, projects to complete, and exams to study and prepare. I needed to do well on the exams to bring up my grades. I had to suck it up and keep studying. The poem reminded me that I needed to keep pushing to the end. If I did that, I would get my just rewards.

College students right now face this very challenge. My two sons are two of them. They can chuck it all or they can put the beautiful snow aside for the moment and keep to the task at hand.

In other words:

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.

Which would you choose?