Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Woods...

I got a new tattoo for my 30th birthday. I spent a lot of time deciding what I wanted, but in the end I just went with the words that have stood out to me for so long. "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" has a stanza that almost burns through me...
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
and miles to go before I sleep,
and miles to go before I sleep.
I don't really know what Frost hoped to convey with this poem. I mean, I can always speculate and imagine, which is one of the great aspects of poetry, but the meaning that is important to me is the one that I have made.
I suffer from pretty serious depression, and it has played a part in many turbulent times in my life. I got this tattoo to remind me that though the depression may be lovely, dark and deep (and, to me, sometimes the solitude and magnitude can be lovely in its own unhealthy way) I have promises to keep and so so so far to go before I could ever imagine giving in and letting depression take over.
I hope I can look at this tattoo for the rest of my life and feel exactly that way I do about it right now.

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