Throughout the centuries, great poets have been inspired by journeys to faraway places. Whether they crossed continents or merely dreamed of it, poets have used verse to explore how traveling can inspire hope, excitement and growth. In celebration of National Poetry Month, here are excerpts of four great travel poems to inspire your next journey.
“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…
“Travel” by Edna St. Vincent Millay
…My heart is warm with friends I make,
And better friends I’ll not be knowing;
Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take,
No matter where it’s going.
“Travel” by Robert Louis Stevenson
I should like to rise and go
Where the golden apples grow;–
Where below another sky
Parrot islands anchored lie…
Night from a railroad car window
Is a great, dark, soft thing…
(Main image: Walt Stoneburner)
