{"id":16770,"date":"2016-10-06T18:08:29","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T16:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ferrovial.com\/blog\/en\/?p=16770"},"modified":"2025-12-11T23:54:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T22:54:45","slug":"5-poems-inspired-by-roads-for-national-poetry-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ferrovial.com\/blog\/en\/2016\/10\/5-poems-inspired-by-roads-for-national-poetry-day\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Poems inspired by roads for National Poetry Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thursday the 6th<\/sup> of October marks National Poetry Day<\/strong> in the UK<\/a>. This day which celebrates all things poetic was founded in 1994 by William Sieghart<\/a>, the British entrepreneur, publisher and founder of the Forward Prizes for Poetry. 12 years on, National Poetry Day has got millions of people across the UK reading, writing and listening to poetry. A variety of live events<\/strong> take place across the country, as well as different online activities<\/strong>. The day has a new theme each year to highlight specific poets and styles of poetry. The theme for 2016 is \u201cmessages<\/strong>\u201d and the Forward Arts Foundation<\/a> are asking people to #<\/span><\/a>sayitwithapoem<\/a> across social media. One of the biggest celebrations this year is National Poetry Day Live<\/a>, a free event taking place at London’s Southbank Centre featuring Mercury winning artist and poet PJ Harvey amongst other acts.<\/p>\n

To celebrate National Poetry Day here at Ferrovial, we have compiled some of our favourite poems that are inspired by roads<\/strong>. It is interesting to see how each of the poets interpret the metaphor of the road<\/strong>, using it in different ways to conjure different emotions<\/strong>. In some of the poems the symbol of the road is used to represent doubt or uncertainty, reflecting upon life’s different pathways, <\/strong>the fork in the road. <\/strong>Other poems use the image of the road to share a romanticised vision of the world, communicating the excitement and freedom of the open road<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Have a read of the poems, some of them you may know already, some you may not, but either way we hope you enjoy them and that it encourages you to discover more poetry this National Poetry Day!<\/p>\n

Poems inspired by roads<\/h2>\n

The Road Not Taken \u2013 Robert Frost<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
\nAnd sorry I could not travel both
\nAnd be one traveler, long I stood
\nAnd looked down one as far as I could
\nTo where it bent in the undergrowth;<\/p>\n

Then took the other, as just as fair,
\nAnd having perhaps the better claim,
\nBecause it was grassy and wanted wear;
\nThough as for that the passing there
\nHad worn them really about the same,<\/p>\n

And both that morning equally lay
\nIn leaves no step had trodden black.
\nOh, I kept the first for another day!
\nYet knowing how way leads on to way,
\nI doubted if I should ever come back.<\/p>\n

I shall be telling this with a sigh
\nSomewhere ages and ages hence:
\nTwo roads diverged in a wood, and I\u2014
\nI took the one less traveled by,
\nAnd that has made all the difference.<\/p>\n

Watch a video interpretation of Frost’s powerful and reflective poem:<\/em><\/p>\n