Monday, November 07, 2005

The Road Not Taken

By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

每次走進秋天滿地黃葉的樹林,就會讓我想起這首詩。路徑在林子裡岔了開來,不知會通往哪裡,但我們卻只能挑一條走。上路之後有不同的風景,而或許不會有機會試另一條了。要挑哪條路呢?

詩人說:我挑了一條人跡稀少的路走,一切的一切因而不同。不過,我比較好奇的是多年之後,如果他能回到從前,還會不會再選同一條路?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

When will you leave Rochester?

纖毛蟲 said...

P.:
還早呢. 至少要等明年春天雪溶了之後.

Anonymous said...

留學生會得來的資訊,不曉得和你專業有無一點相關性?反正先轉給你。
http://www.hbmsp.com/html/C_institutions.htm

Chat Noir said...

真巧,我前一陣子在整理書架,
還把Robert frost的詩集打包帶了。
想的就是這首詩最後幾句話。
它真有意思,
很容易反映出各人當下的心境。

纖毛蟲自己呢?
如果可以回到從前,
會選擇一條不同的路嗎?

Anonymous said...

沒事逛到你的部落格來,剛好看到這首詩,感到非常雀躍。

我很喜歡這首詩,很喜歡!!

纖毛蟲 said...

咦,我怎麼一直沒回覆這篇呢.

gilli:
是的,這篇確實曾收錄進我們當年統編本的高中英文課本中.大家都是同一世代的.

夏諾瓦:
反映人當下的心境.確實是如此.我覺得還可以更進一步說是反映出人的個性與人生態度.

yufenghsu:
謝謝你的留言.我也很喜歡這首詩.

或許,許多人都曾在某個時候某個地方,走上一條人跡稀少的路.
有一天回頭看,勇於冒險的或許就不滿足於重走一次,而願意體驗不同的風景, 像gilli;
比較保守或固執的或許即使再有機會,或許仍要重蹈舊輒.
我想我是個性保守的人,但是,如果再回到從前要走什麼路?I don't know. Ummm...

以前修發育生物學學到一個單字:commitment. 一個受精卵,分裂分裂分裂...變成幾十個一樣的細胞,然後開始各自分化,一步步變成型態功能互異的各種不同組織器官. 過了某個關口,細胞的命運就決定了,只能向前走至終端分化,回不去具有分化全能性質的幹細胞時期了.我一直覺得這跟人生好像啊.
然後研究人員說,且慢,故事不是只能這樣.即使實驗成功機率很低,有人還是可以從乳腺細胞複製出成羊來,又說有成體幹細胞可以保有分化的潛能.還有人要設法解開這些commitment的生化機制是什麼.還有太多的可能性啊.
所以我想,我還是不知道人生會是怎樣.