SOLITARY TRAVELERS
Crystal children glitter and glow
Myriad hues from them do flow
Their feet untouched by graveled lane
Success, success, never one blow
How awful pressure keeps them sane
Input-output in perfect brain
Muses a poor soul sitting near
Lucky chaps why envy in vain
Peerless children don’t need a peer
They’re taught to battle hard
without fear
Their orbit’s lonely they don’t
weep
Life to them isn’t even dear
They see the beauty dark and deep
But they have promises to keep
And miles to go before they sleep
And miles to go before they sleep
&
Shared with Poetry Pantry @ Poets United
beautiful... love the last verse, and the repetition of the last line... enchanting.
ReplyDeletehey i know where those last lines came from...nice homage....teaching children they need no peer...i wonder what price success takes you know.....
ReplyDeleteI like it when children should dream fearlessly ~
ReplyDeleteThe repetition works well for me and echoes Frost famous lines as well ~
Happy Sunday ~
You have nicely penned the intensity and ironic path of the success-driven child.
ReplyDeletean elegant poem!
ReplyDeletein this success-driven world, sometimes it's the parents who are doing the pushing..
wonderful sumana ji its beautiful.dxbnidblog
ReplyDeleteAh you choose the same poem as I did... how you turned this to roads of life.. a little bit of the road less travelled here too.. great tribute.
ReplyDeletebeautifully penned Sumana.
ReplyDeleteThis is lovely - great title, then the crystal children...your Frost lines finish it off to perfection.
ReplyDeleteIt is very difficult to be a child today--any day. Thanks, Sumana. k.
ReplyDeleteThis really opened up a lot of thoughts to me...A very lovely poem!
ReplyDeleteThis really opened up a lot of thoughts to me in my head, a really great poem!
ReplyDeleteYou have portrayed the lives of many of today's children very strongly. I tend to think that a lot of parents put pressure on their children and forget to teach kindness on the way. Effective use of repetition at the end!
ReplyDeleteSumana, you have used the Frost idea to perfection! And I love the rhythm of your poem as well!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully said Sumana. <3
ReplyDeleteYou've captured the loneliness of driven children so well. 'Solitary Travelers, indeed.
ReplyDeleteSumana,
ReplyDeleteYou have captured the essence of poor children driven by the desires of over ambitious parents/guardians. A tough life to simply return glories upon those you are driving the direction. Poor children without a moment to be childlike....
Crystal children glitter is a beautiful opening line. The whole poem, actually, is an exquisite allegory for how children (some children more than others) are made to strive and, really, not have much of a childhood, at all.
ReplyDeleteI think children should be allowed to dream their own dreams..traveling a long road at such a young age is hard. The ending worked perfectly.
ReplyDeletethe opening line and the final refrain are perfect and frame the stanza in between. WEll done
ReplyDeleteChildren having to be too tough too soon is heartbreaking. Great theme and twist on Frost.
ReplyDeleteYour complex subject fits the tone and all of Frost's poem, the balance of wanting to stop, wanting to go on to be the best we can be. It takes a special kind of child to welcome such pressure and take up the challenge. Too few succeed.
ReplyDeleteYour crystal children made me think of the indigo children...knowing/experiencing much before their time...thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteSo much a child has to go through to reacj their goal... Sometimes set up by themselves... Sometimes by peers. Beautiful write. Loved the intensity of the poem.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Sumana :)
ReplyDeleteYou have applied Frost's original form to your own poem very convincingly, with a tip of the hat to him in your final stanza.
ReplyDeletenice understanding of others.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully penned as always Sumana, I really liked the repetition at the end...smiles
ReplyDeleteReally a beautiful write Sumana!
ReplyDeletewhat a beautiful poem, i love how well it flowed!
ReplyDeleteexceptional!
stacy lynn mar
http://warningthestars.blogspot.com/
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNice rhythm and touching subject...the last stanza is a great tribute to Robert Frost :-)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Deleted my previous comment for some typo errors..
Well worked rhyme scheme!
ReplyDeletePick a line from Robert Frost and go. The "miles to go" is probably his favorite line with me. Wish I had written for this.
ReplyDeleteNow, here I see two different groups seeing the same 'children' going through life. Some see the hardships and can emphasize with them, the others see them as being 'born with a silver spoon' with everything being given to them.
Only those who know a person can really see the true 'travelers'. Nice write, Roy. :)
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This is beautiful, and so profoundly sad.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a lovely write.
ReplyDeleteIt's been many years, but I still remember the first time I laid eyes on the Queensland bottle tree. Beauty dark, beauty deep.
ReplyDelete