Quoting Robert Frost To Say Goodbye

Robert Frost was a philosopher of American life, many of his poems are parables set in timeless rural scenes, and his most memorable lines quite naturally come to mind at ceremonial turning points in Americans’ lives. This week, marking Justice David Souter’s retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts quoted from Frost’s “ Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” in the justices’ farewell letter: “We understand your desire to trade white marble for White Mountains, and return to your land ‘of easy wind and downy flake.’” And in his reply, Souter quoted from Frost’s great Depression-era poem about work and vocation, “Two Tramps in Mud Time”: “You quoted the Poet, and I will, too, in words that set out the ideal of the life engaged, ‘...where love and need are one...’”

from The Christian Science Monitor:
“After 19 years, Souter and the Supreme Court part, with poetry,” by Warren Richey
“As the New Englander retires, he and Chief Justice John Roberts exchange warm letters of farewell — and a few verses of Robert Frost.... The poet Robert Frost speaks to life-long New Englanders like David Souter in ways other poets cannot.”

More on Robert Frost:
Profile of Robert Frost, American farmer/philosopher poet
Library of Poems by Robert Frost
The “Tricky” Poem, study guide to “The Road Not Taken”
Robert Frost Talks About Poetry
A Robert Frost poem handwritten & hidden away: “War Thoughts at Home”
Frost’s Homer Noble Farm Treated Most Ignobly
Poetical punishment for the Frost farm vandals