[POEM] Adlestrop by Edward Thomas

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Ok-Space-2357 is in POEM

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This poem always reminds me of one of the saddest exchanges in the history of poetry. Edward Thomas was a good friend of Robert Frost. Robert Frost's 'The Road Not Taken' (a poem still misunderstood and misinterpreted to this day as a paean to taking the 'authentic' individualistic path in life) was intended as a gentle ribbing at Thomas's famous indecision when deciding which route to take while out walking with Frost. As many readers continue to do so to this day, Thomas took the poem literally as a call to action. We don't know for certain what role that poem played in his decision to enlist late to serve in the First World War (unnecessary as he was older and married) but we do know that Thomas was killed in 1917, soon after arriving in France.

This poem Adlestrop was written in summer 1914, before the outbreak of the war. It always makes me think of Frost's impression of Thomas as a man who looks out into a landscape he wants to explore but then leaves the exploration for another day which may never arrive.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/89511/robert-frost-the-road-not-taken

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