Kerry's Wednesday Challenge ~ On the Road

“Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.” 
 Jack Kerouac, On the Road

The simple and functional road has long made its imaginative mark on the human psyche.  Perhaps it is because we like to live in the future context of our own lives: the possible outcomes which are yet to present themselves, the destinies which seem to promise the fulfillment of our lives' purposes.  I love the sight of an open road, the sense of movement and freedom that travel allows.


My challenge this month is not complex. I have taken great pleasure in collecting several quotes from remarkable authors and I present them to you, along with these pictures of interesting roads for the sake of inspiration. The rest is up to you. This is not a 'picture challenge', as such, so you do not have to use one of these images.  The only prerequisite is the theme. 

“You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget.” 
Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Roads go ever ever on,
Under cloud and under star.
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen,
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green,
And trees and hills they long have known.

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“A man of my acquaintance once wrote a poem called "The Road Less Traveled", describing a journey he took through the woods along a path most travelers never used. The poet found that the road less traveled was peaceful but quite lonely, and he was probably a bit nervous as he went along, because if anything happened on the road less traveled, the other travelers would be on the road more frequently traveled and so couldn't hear him as he cried for help. Sure enough, that poet is dead.” 
 Lemony Snicket, The Slippery Slope

“Just look down the road and tell me if you can see either of them."

“I see nobody on the road," said Alice.

“I only wish I had such eyes," the King remarked in a fretful tone. "To be able to see Nobody! And at such a distance too!” 
 Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

“People create their own questions because they are afraid to look straight. All you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it, don't sit looking at it - walk.” 
Ayn Rand

“It was that kind of a crazy afternoon, terrifically cold, and no sun out or anything, and you felt like you were disappearing every time you crossed a road.” 
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

“Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!”
Bob Marley

One more thing before I leave you to your thoughts ... It is preferred that your responses to challenges on Real Toads be new work, rather than older pieces written to similar themes. The starting point of this writers' group is to inspire poetry, not merely to provide an open forum for bloggers to showcase their work.