*Our* Hero

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”*
by Robert Frost (1874-1963)

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.

This poem comes to mind when I think of a person I’ll call our hero. We all would consider this person a hero as he said “yes” to his sister’s request to her health care proxy. And now the sister is sick in the ICU with COVID pneumonia, breathing with the help of a ventilator.

The poem’s lines, “to ask if there is some mistake”, and “But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, / And miles to go before I sleep”, keep circulating in my mind when I think about the weight on this hero’s shoulders, trudging through daily tasks as their loved one lies in the hospital bed. Each day this hero shows up to answer common questions as if they have on the complete suit of armor from Ephesians 6:10-15, “…having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”

Please pray for this hero and their family as days unfold with many mysteries.

-Meg Fotakis

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*This Robert Frost poem entered the public domain on January 1, 2019.