Stopping by Waterfront on a Snowy Evening

Growing up my siblings and I memorized poems to present to my father each year as birthday gifts. Sometimes the same poem, sometimes different poems. When you’re all three of us learned Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”. It remains a favorite. This afternoon’s daily dispatch swaps woods for waterfront in service to a photograph snapped from my study window a dozen years ago today. I offer you “Stopping by Waterfront on a Snowy Evening”. Please excuse the presumption!

If you’re unfamiliar with Frost’s poem, these lines are especially resonant in conjunction with today’s photo.

He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow…

Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

— Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” (Source:The Poetry Foundation)

Swap out “woods” for “waterfront”, and you’re well on your way. One of the curious pleasures that comes with living at Roslyn is the frequency with which people walking/driving past stop to regard — and often photograph — the boathouse. I have many pictures of strangers taking pictures. A little meta perhaps, but fun.

It’s worth noting that I’ve taken  a couple of liberties. It’s not the darkest day of the year, but a month and a day *after* the darkest day of the year. and the photograph was taken just shy of noon, not evening. But it would be tough to tell just looking at the photograph… 

Robert Frost concluded “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” with a stanza that feels especially appropriate today. 

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.

— Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” (Source:The Poetry Foundation)

Halfway through the work week, the end of the week is not yet in sight. Still many responsibilities to fulfill this afternoon and over the next two days. A busy and rewarding stretch. But very little time to spare, so I’d best offer the photograph as a sort of visual homage to Frost, and then get on with it.

See you tomorrow!