On the road, again — Summary

Dave BontaContemplative

the road grows with us

the road is lost though going the same way

the road is master to the clock but not to clouds

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Three short statements, each a small puzzle about what a road really is. In the first, the road "grows with us," as if it were alive and changing alongside the traveler rather than lying fixed on a map. The journey seems to shape the person, and the person shapes the journey.

The second stanza turns odd and a little uneasy. The road is "lost / though going the same way." Perhaps you can be heading in a familiar direction and still feel without bearings, the way a long trip can blur into sameness. The speaker doesn't say which feeling wins out, and that uncertainty is part of the mood.

The last lines widen the view. The road rules over the clock, so travel sets its own pace, but it has no power over clouds, which drift where they like. The tone is quiet, reflective, and a bit wistful, with a sense of freedom as well as small limits. The title's "again" suggests this is a journey the speaker has taken before.

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