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| 2009/05/22 14:08:10瀏覽536｜回應1｜推薦8 | |
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A Greener Patch Next to the modern protocol which tethered me Stood a greener patch cut by a paved, shaded road. It curved and branched And promised, if I stayed loyal, Visits with a murmuring creek Before sloping down to the border of the woods. I’d like to remember the patch as a frequented place Sort of a forest emerging past winter As having a more affectionate claim to my daylight routine. So I anticipated it whenever driving south on I-495, but of course I was idealizing there and then. Not the one Not Taken [1] The road in the patch was well-trodden. Diverging to labeled parking lots and orderly buildings Now vacated Its convenient loop had shuttled people between obligations. And that was how I always found my way back After a lunch-time excursion. And what an excursion it had been! Beside a haughty lamppost dressed in verdant vines A basketball hoop clung to a backboard, rusty but not rotten. I mocked it with an unblocked jump – The net was as durable as it must have been In days of shots and hustle. Easily spotted was a swimming pool If one glanced through a broad glass window Maintained up-to-date, with a Jacuzzi that still bubbled. To send germs to whirlpool Or to amuse themselves Custodians were minding something surreal. That thought discomforted me So I advanced briskly to the edge of The woods, to shake it off To immerse myself in a chirping concerto. There invisible feathered midgets would sing One fountain after another Rising above muffled bass of nearby highways. 'Tis the sound of border - I felt alive in its bizarre contrast When safe in the knowledge of a sure retreat. That is, until the day the protocol bid us severed. Only then did I notice a greener piece by the sidewalk Dotted with sunny daisies bursting lowly and Orange-bellied birds pecking vigorously Both of which, in spite of my footsteps, Attending to ancient obligations at their own pace Wild flowers and worthless sparrows, [2] “How careless and brief?” I wondered, And shuddered at my little faith. So typical of a tethered animal, That I had been, and wanted to be. --------------------------------------------------------- Note 1. Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken 2. Matthew 6:25-34 中文版《較綠之地》 |
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