101 Poems, Number 94

Favorite Poems Throughout My Life

94: “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” 1923, by Robert Frost (1874–1963)

This is the first, that I recall,

My students learned, yes, one and all.

And I, their teacher, yes, yes, I

Did learn it, too—a protocol.

To memorize? Well, you must try

To do it firmly—gratify

Yourself: a thrill in working hard—

A thrill that time will magnify.

So I’ve learned poems by the Bard—

I practice them out in the yard—

Recite them to my honor guard—

(The line before? A pure canard.)

Link to poem.