Choosing Green
two roads diverge, each green;
just one that you can choose
from two to choose from streams.
short win twists; turns to lose.
just one that you can choose;
with devil that is greed,
short win twists; turns to lose.
the cost? to watch love bleed.
with devil that is greed,
Gaia cries in despair.
the cost, to watch love bleed,
in the end gasp for air.
shall she cry in despair?
choose instead path of life!
in the end, gasp for air?
let your heart be your guide!
choose instead path of life.
slosh not in cesspool greed.
let your heart be your guide;
walk other, lined with trees
slosh not in cesspool greed
of two to choose from streams.
walk other, lined with trees.
two roads diverge, each green…
This poem is a nod both to Frost’s, The Road Not Taken, and Longfellow’s, A Psalm of Life
Merril is today’s host of dVerse’ Meeting the Bar. Merril says:
Write a pantoum, according to the outline and directions above. It may be rhymed or unrhymed. You must repeat lines, as noted above. Your first line should be repeated as the final line of the poem.
Tao Talk 
Interesting that the green choices were trees or greed.
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Thanks, Maria.
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Green is my favorite color…but not because of money! I went in to buy my mini cooper years back and they asked me what color…I said the color of the Peanuts grass on the cartoon…they couldn’t do it so I got a blue one.
A good and bad side of green.
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Peanuts grass green. I love it! My favorite color of green also.
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Oh cool! My two favorite colors together are green and yellow (or gold)
What a odd weird day blogging Lisa… I’m doing southerrn artists this week…and I just happened to post the Allman Brothers Rambling Man…Dickey Betts wrote that song and did the vocals…found out the incredibly sad news that he passed away today at 80.
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Max, some call it a random coincidence, but I don’t think it is. Synchronicity is more like it, a *meaningful* coincidence. If we don’t look at time as strictly linear, who is to say those vibes aren’t put out there (that Dickey was heading home) and you picked up on it? He’s going to rambling on home now <3
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Yes you could be right…I was looking up interviews of him right before I heard…
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I liked the nod to Frost in the opening. Too many have chosen the stream of greed to the detriment of others and Gaia. Nicely done, Li!
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Thanks much, Merril.
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You’re welcome, Li!
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Wonderful not to Robert Frost’s poem and to the pantoum form…..
Greed….so much evil within that word. So much beyond the pale. Let me digress:
My husband and I went to a rehearsal of the Boston Symphony Orchestra this morning. A ticketed even that was MUCH more reasonably priced than this weekends performances of the same program. A beautiful Mozart symphony; a marvelously haunting symphony by a composer from Iceland; and a Brahms violin concerto. There were a group of quite young people behind us…maybe 5th, 6th graders with their music teacher. I overheard two of the young girls talking about their houses, in the break between pieces. Have no idea how the topic came up. One quite matter-of factly, said she had a large bedroom with her own bathroom….the other said, “What?” and then the one said yes, there were five bedrooms in her bathroom and three bathrooms and they had a game room, family room in the basement and a patio and gardens. The other girl was sucking in her breath. She finally said something to the effect of “you are so lucky. My house is so much smaller. All on one level. My parents sleep in the living room.” At that point the music started again and I never heard an end to the conversation. It made me think about the honesty of kids….and the inequities of upbringings that kids just have to deal with and live through. Not that there was any greed in the little girl who answered “oh you’re so lucky”. Just struck me that, in some cases, inequities cause greed on both sides. The haves want more and the have nots do too.
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Thanks for sharing your vicarious experience and your thoughts on it, Lillian. Glad you enjoyed the nod and the form.
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I picked up on the Frost angle right away; very nicely done, and the Longfellow reference made sense once I had a look at his piece, which I didn’t know.
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Happy you took a gander, at my poem and at the Longfellow. Two beloved poets, Frost and L.
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Well said Jade. Would that more people knew which to choose…(K)
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Love the theme of nature – green versus greed. This part resonated with me:
with devil that is greed,
Gaia cries in despair.
the cost, to watch love bleed,
in the end gasp for air.
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Thanks much, Grace. <3
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HI Lisa, this is a great poem. This is easier said than done as our entire world has been set up on a fossil fuels basis. We need some determination and commitment to initiate change.
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Robbie, thanks. I totally agree with you. I also see what I call a lack of urgency about our situation. The lame f***s running things think $$$ will bail them out of any jam. I just don’t see $$$ able to be breathed. If you have Netflix, check out Love, Death, & Robots episode called “Exit Strategies”
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Well said, Lisa, and thank you 😊
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I like the allusion to Robert Frost, Lisa, but I also thought of Kermit singing Van Morrison’s song ‘It’s not Easy Being Green’. The shift from green to greed is genius! I would always choose the path lined with trees.
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Oh my goodness, Kim, I didn’t know VanMo wrote Kermie’s song! Makes it twice as special. I know you would always choose the path lined with trees. Thank you, my friend <3
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You’re welcome, Lisa. It’s from Hard Nose the Highway.
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A beautiful poem and such an important message Li.
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Sadje, thank you. I like how it turned out but I would like to polish it up at some point.
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You’re welcome ☺️
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“two roads diverge, each green…”
A thought- provoking line, Li. :)
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Kitty, thanks, happy you think so :)
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I love this, Lisa. We do have a choice… I choose the green that gives life freely and shall nurture it so that it can continue to do so.
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Dale, I believe you. Seeing your walks and your photos, you live it <3
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Now that really touches me, Lisa. I love that. Thank you. 💞
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I like this. I often post about the difference between True Green and Poison Green…I see Poison Green as the color of poison ivy, but Dollar Green seems like a close match, doesn’t it?
PriscillaKing (linking to this at Blogspot)
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Priscilla, now that you mention it, those two greens do match closely! Glad you liked the poem.
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p.s. If you could put some of your post links in the comments, it would be great. Interested in seeing them.
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Beautifully, movingly composed, Lisa, to consider the cost of greed before the earth gives its last gasp. I love how the opening/closing line alludes to Frost’s poem on two roads awaiting our choice.
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Dora, thank you for the kind feedback.
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You’re most welcome, my friend.
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Beautifully composed .. I felt at times as though I was traversing with you. As you already know, I believe greed is not good!!! Thanks for leaving me a comment.
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Helen, I’m pleased you liked the poem and happy to walk with you among the trees <3
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It is all about choices, isn’t it! Love your nod to Frost and Longfellow and how you used the form so creatively to drive home a message that deeply resonates. ❤️
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Punam, if I had my way about it, it would be blaring from loudspeakers until listeners wore out and decided to take action to make it stop.
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I wish they would do it, loudspeakers or not.
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Such a beautiful poem. ❤️
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Thank you <3
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May we all let our hearts guide us.
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<3
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