I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain - and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.

Robert Frost was born in San Francisco in 1874. He became interested in reading and writing poetry while he was in the school. His first published poem My Butterfly appeared in The Independent in 1894. In 1924, he won the Pulitzer Prize for the book New Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes. Frost died in 1963. Some of his best-known poems are After Apple Picking, The Road Not Taken, Home Burial and Mending Wall.

1. acquainted: has met or has the knowledge of
2. outwalked: walked faster of farther
3. dropped my eyes: failed to make eye contact
4. luminary: (here) moon
5. proclaimed: announced clearly