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葉劉淑儀 新民黨主席
美國詩人Robert Frost(1874-1963)曾長居新英格蘭，寫了許多大自然詩篇。有些作品表面寫景，實含隱喻（metaphor），寓意深刻。The Road Not Taken寫於1920年，共四段（four stanzas），每段五行。據說Frost和遠足夥伴走到岔口（a fork in the road），總會討論選擇哪條路，因此受到啟發。山上的岔路，就如人生的抉擇。究竟詩人如何選擇呢？
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, 黃樹林中岔開兩條路，
And sorry I could not travel both 可惜我不能分身探索，
And be one traveler, long I stood 我孑然一身，佇立良久，
And looked down one as far as I could 極目沿著一條路望去，
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 直至它蜿蜒消失於叢林中。
Then took the other, as just as fair, 我走上另一條路，同樣美好，
And having perhaps the better claim, 也許更加吸引，
Because it was grassy and wanted (缺少) wear (耗損)； 因為路上芳草萋萋，人跡杳然。
Though as for that the passing there 但說起來，過客的足印
Had worn them really about the same, 在兩路上一樣不多，
And both that morning equally lay 那天早上，兩條路均鋪滿落葉，
In leaves no step had trodden (踐踏) black. 落葉上沒一個踏痕。
Oh, I kept the first for another day! 我還是把第一條路留待他朝吧！
Yet knowing how way leads on to way, 不過，每條路都會引領我到另一條路，
I doubted if I should ever come back. 我恐怕不會再回來。
I shall be telling this with a sigh 多年後某處
Somewhere ages and ages hence: 我將嘆息著說道：
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I－ 林中有岔路，我——
I took the one less traveled by, 我選了較少人走過的一條，
And that has made all the difference. 往後的事都變得不一樣。
這篇詩有許多含糊處（ambiguities），耐人尋味。驟眼看，詩人選了較少人走過的路：「It was grassy and wanted wear」；「I took the one less traveled by」不過，作者又說：「...the passing there had worn them really about the same, /And both that morning equally lay/ In leaves no step had trodden black.」兩條路同樣人跡罕至。表面上詩人特意闖一條新路，實際上不過是隨意的選擇。
選擇對錯難說清
詩末說：「And that has made all the difference.」這個difference是好是壞？詩人沒有明言。人往住面對魚與熊掌的情況，不同的選擇會帶來不同的結果，後果難以逆轉。哪個選擇比較合理？結果比較好？很難說清。
匯賢智庫早前委託多位國際學者寫成Innovation Policy and the Limits of Laissez-faire一書，我在前言說：「Many interesting questions can, and should, be asked about the road not taken in the Hong Kong society.」（我們可以而且應該就香港社會的未選之路提出許多有趣的問題。）這裡的「the road not taken」指科技創新之路。香港多年來奉行自由放任政策，犧牲了多少促進創新的機會？現在如何趕上？
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