Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Robert Frost · 1923

Catalog grade guidance: 3–12 — Simple words and a clear scene; older readers can weigh the pull of rest against duty.

16 content lines · 109 words · Est. recitation about 1 min 3 sec (approx.)

Public-domain text for reading and recitation practice. Source: Robert Frost, New Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes (New York: Henry Holt, 1923), first edition, Grace Notes, p. 87 (Internet Archive page images, leaf n101); cross-checked with Project Gutenberg #58611.Estimated time uses ~120 words/minute plus short pauses—not a contest rule.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

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.