A Roadside Stand
by Robert Frost
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The poem highlights the pitiful condition of poor country people who set up a little roadside stand at the edge of a highway, hoping to earn some cash from the passing city traffic. The little old house with its new shed pleads not for charity but for the flow of city money that would support and 'keep them poor from being under-fed'. But the polished, selfish city cars speed past; if they stop, it is only to complain that the stand spoils the scenery, to ask for directions, or to turn around, and they drive off with a mean, superior air, leaving the country folk hurt. The poet criticises the false promises of social reformers and 'greedy good-doers' who, in the name of helping the rural poor, actually uproot them, herd them into towns and rob them of their peace and freedom. He is moved almost to unbearable pain by the vain, childlike longing in the sad, wistful faces of these people who wait in vain for the customers and the money that never come.
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The poem exposes the neglect, deprivation and false promises suffered by the rural poor, contrasting their innocent longing with the indifference of the wealthy city-dwellers and the hypocrisy of self-serving reformers.
The plea of the roadside stand
A poor family runs a little roadside stand at the edge of the road, its new shed built to sell wild berries and 'golden squash'. It pleads, not for charity, but for the 'city money' of the passing traffic that would support these country people and keep 'the flower of cities' from withering the countryside, money that alone can keep them from being underfed.
The indifferent city traffic
The polished traffic of selfish city people mostly speeds past with a mean, contemptuous look. If cars stop at all, it is only to complain that the artless signs and the stand spoil the beautiful landscape, or to ask directions, or to back and turn around, then they drive off angrily, leaving the country people disappointed.
The hypocrisy of the 'good-doers'
The poet condemns the 'greedy good-doers' and 'beneficent beasts of prey', the reformers and politicians who, in the name of helping the rural poor, actually deceive them, move them from their land into towns beside theatres and stores, and rob them of their peace, their freedom and their ability to think for themselves.
The poet's unbearable pain
The poet is deeply pained by the childlike, vain longing in the sad faces of the country people who wait day after day for the sound of a stopping car and the money that seldom comes. Their hopeless waiting causes him an almost unbearable ache, and he wishes he could put them out of their misery, then checks himself, realising his own helplessness.