The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both, And be one traveller long I stood, And followed one as far as I could, To where it bent in the undergrowth, Then took the other, as just as fair, Having perhaps the better claim,  For it was grassy and wanted wear, Though 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 onto way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be tell this with a sigh, Somewhere ages and ages hence Two roads diverged in a wood, And I, I took the one less travelled by And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost

He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the half light, I would spread the cloths uner your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have pread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. William Butler Yeats The Moods Time drops in decay, Like a candle burnt out, And the mountains and the woods Have their day, have their day; What one of the fire-born moods, Has fallen away? William Butler Yeats

Aurora Of bronze and blaze The north, tonight! So adequate its forms, So preconcerted with itself, So distant to alarms, - An unconcern so sovereign To universe, or me, It paints my simple spirit With tints of majesty, Till I take vaster attitudes, And strut upon my stem, Distaining men and oxygen, For arogance of them My splendors are menagerie; But their completeless show Will entertain the centuries When I am, long ago, An island in dishonoured grass Whom none but the daisies know. Emily Dickinson

Success I I was invincibly attracted to her; Only an abyss an exercise such fascination. II I paused under a locust-tree, lighting a cigarette: The water has our mark on it still. III She told me at night, the time of living breath; We took a shower in perfect darkness. IV Was that the distant roar of lions Or the sounds of the clouds travelling? V When a pregnant woman bows to a fertile idol The unborn child bows as she does, within the temple. VI So I went out and walked round the lake again To listen to the sky; appraoching thunder Printed its paw-marks across the water. Peter Redgrove

Flowers Some men never think of it, You did. You'd come along And say you'd nearly brought my flowers But something had gone wrong. The shop was closed. Or you had doubts - The sort that minds like ours Dream up incessantly. You thought I might not want your flowers. It made me smile and hug you then. Now I can only smile. But, look, the flowers you nearly brought Have lasted all this while. Wendy Cope

Example A butterfly flew between the cars. Marie José said: it must be Chuang Tzu, on a tour of New York. But the butterfly didn't know it was a butterfly dreaming it was Chuang Tzu or Chuang Tzu dreaming he was a butterfly. The butterfly never wondered: it flew. Octavio Paz (Translated by Elliot Weinberger)

Fire and Ice Some say the world will end in fire. Some say in ice. From what I've stasted of desire I hold with those who favour fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. Robert Frost

Pad, Pad I always remember your beautiful flowers And the beautiful kimono you wore When you sat on the couch With that tigerish crouch And told me you loved me no more. What I cannot remember is how I felt when you were unkind All I know is, if you were unkind now I should not mind. Ah me, the power to feel exaggerated, angry and sad The years have taken from me. Softly I go now, pad, pad. Stevie Smith

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