Your introduction to the famous Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken” might have been when your grade-school teacher told you that the road in question was the one fewer people traveled. The road of independence. The better road. Go the wilder route, the poem says. Bushwhack to unseen beauty! Discover what others haven’t. You may have held on to that interpretation, but the road not taken, if you read carefully, is clearly not the same road as the “one less traveled.” The road not taken is simply the other road—the one that “bent in the undergrowth” of the yellow wood. The roads aren’t even that different, as described in these overlooked lines: “Though as for that the passing there/ Had worn them really about the same, / And both that morning equally This story is from Kinfolk Issue Thirty-Four Buy Now Related Stories Arts & Culture Issue 19 Going Incognito We all secretly wonder what mischief we’d make if invisible: When our identity is hidden, everything seems possible. Arts & Culture Issue 19 The Best Policy Sometimes we talk to each other without feeling heard. Honesty—a most intimate interaction—can be just as thrilling as its more devious inverse. Arts & Culture Issue 19 A Sense of Suspense With unhinged imaginations and mountains of cliff-hangers, the filmmakers behind the sci-fi podcast Limetown have all the makings of a scary story. Arts & Culture Issue 19 Like Clockwork In this new column about time, we learn how slipping off our watches makes us feel like deadline-damning renegades. Arts & Culture Music Issue 19 On a Grander Scale Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna now may live on the opposite side of the globe, but she’s determined to evolve while staying true to her roots. Arts & Culture Issue 19 Neighborhood: Fire Stations The firefighting profession has evolved over time from Ancient Rome’s rudimentary bucket brigades to today’s sleek life-saving departments.
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Arts & Culture Issue 19 The Best Policy Sometimes we talk to each other without feeling heard. Honesty—a most intimate interaction—can be just as thrilling as its more devious inverse.
Arts & Culture Issue 19 A Sense of Suspense With unhinged imaginations and mountains of cliff-hangers, the filmmakers behind the sci-fi podcast Limetown have all the makings of a scary story.
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