Forte-two

I saw a figure in the woods
A silhouette, down the road less travelled by
Was it a person, I did not know
Only a human-like body disappearing into the darkening sky

Beckoned by an adventurous allure,
I followed it down the road less travelled by
To the thorns and thickets encroaching on me
Calling out the dreaded demons of the night

The figure halted in its path, noticing I was trailing behind
But recommenced its journey
After letting out a faint laugh and a sad sigh

Maybe the heavens heard its sorrowful sigh
Or the clouds felt too heavy laden with grief
And decided to reply

It was getting dark and cold
So I turned away from my discourse
And made headway for the fold
Worried that I would be caught in nature’s force

In the morning
I wonder, treading down the worn road
If I continued down the road less travelled
What would have been unto me bestowed

Question:
Who do I see myself becoming and/or what do I see myself doing in the future?

Review:
I titled this poem forte-two as a wordplay on forty-two, as a response to the question. This is my response as myself at twenty-four years old wondering what my forte will be at forty-two, hence the title ‘Forte-two’.

I wrote this poem also in response to ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost. In the poem, he states that he made the road less travelled by and that has made all the difference. There are many interpretations to that specific line itself. My poem is in response to my own personal interpretation.

The ‘figure’ in the poem represents two things. Firstly, it represents my 18 year old self chasing the dream of writing and literature. In the first stanza, it states that the figure traverses down the road less travelled by. In this sense, it means that dream-chasing was not the usual route of educational interest in STEM or law or business management but rather the arts. The ‘darkening sky’ in the first stanza is used to induce an ominous and foreboding emotion of such a pursuit.

In the second stanza, it states that ‘I follow this figure down the road less travelled by’, representing my initial pursuit in chasing my dreams and my ‘self’ of being a writer. The second stanza reiterates even further the perils of this pursuit, by using the imagery of the ‘thorns and thickets’. Firstly, by using ‘thorns and thickets’, with the consonants t produce harsher sounds compared to words with consonants f and l. Also, ‘calling out the dreaded demons of the night’ in stanza two is an imagery of the thorns and thickets casting frightening shadows in the night, which is also representative of the journey that lies ahead – terrifying and intimidating.

The ‘figure’ in the third stanza represents a future self in third person, where it knows that this pursuit of my passion in writing will be short-lived. The ‘laugh’, a hollow laughter coupled with a ‘sad sigh’, paints a melancholic mood to the scene, and shows my ‘self’s’ despondence with the fact that it will be a worthless pursuit, in light of the difficulties and struggles that entail with such a pursuit.

The forth stanza uses pathetic fallacy as a literary device. I wrote it to amplify the significance of loss that I associate with this abandoned pursuit in writing as a career. Also, it further ties in the difficulties as a writer in the industry where it will be wrought with strive.

The fifth stanza is a narration of my abandonment of the pursuit of writing as a career, given that I believe I should be pragmatic instead and not brave it out in the ‘harsh weather’.

The last stanza is a summation of where I am now and where I believe I will be at forty-two: wondering what would have become of me if I had chosen writing as a career instead of finance. Robert Frost in his poem states, ‘I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference’. I believe my future self will always look back at the defining moment in my life where I chose finance as a career instead of writing.

In essence, I see myself as a finance person in the future, with a background and a passion for writing. This skill however, is rarely highlighted or recognised. I had a dream of being a writer, but I gave that up to pursue what I thought would be the most pragmatic and most likely for me to be able to give my family a very comfortable life in the future. However, the future forty-two year old me will always wonder the ‘what if’ of pursuing writing as a career.

Other literary techniques employed:
When talking about myself, the stanzas are always in four lines. While talking about the ‘figure’, it is always three lines. ‘Three’ throughout history has significance of many things, such as completeness such as in the Bible; the Holy Trinity, the three angels, three gifts presented in Jesus. Whereas ‘Four’ represents material things. For example, God created all material things in Day 4 of Creation without animal life. The analogy here is that I am pursuing material aspects in life while the ‘figure’ is something that would possibly have completed myself as in individual.