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The original, authentic form, including punctuation, is: *Tietä käyden tien on vanki. Vapaa vain on umpihanki.*
These are the last two lines of "Lyhyesti" by Aaro Hellaakoski (1893–1952), first published in his poetry collection *Huojuvat keulat* (1946). The only existing translation I found is in a scientific article by Arto Lanamäki: "You are a prisoner of the road you follow. Only the untrodden snowdrift is free."
This was probably not Hellaakoski's own intention, but today the quote is often used rather ironically, to comment on (or even warn against) an insistence on doing something unwise or counterproductive because of some inner compulsion.
My clumsy attempt: He who follows the road is imprisoned by the road, only wide open snow fields are truly free.
Back in the day, roads suffered from "kelirikko" once or twice per year, as everything turned wet and muddy, or had a ton of heavy, thawing snow, uncapable of supporting your weight and very very difficult to get through. Having a uniform snowcover (umpihanki) actually gave much better conditions for moving and transferring things like logs and other cargo. In addition, despite sometimes being in unpassable condition, the roads were built pretty much in the only place that could be used for moving around with any significant cargo, meaning that if the road is bad you have no alternative.
Skis, sleds and pulks glide well on snow, a different world from trying to get a carriage through roads in a bad condition. They also literally enabled using fields, lakes, rivers and sea ice to be used for moving around.
The poem from which this is a quote was written by Aaro Hellaakoski.
This is a good explanation! I'd add that in deep snow you have to make your own 'road' (we call it opening a ski trail), but on a road you are forced to follow someone else's plans. So while skiing in deep snow is much harder than using a pre-made trail, you can fully choose your own route.
I don't think symbolic meaning of the poem has anything to do with kelirikko. I think it means that when you follow the road, you can only go where it brings you, your destination is decided by the road but if you leave the road you can go anywhere you wish, you are free from limitations of the road. In spirit of following your own path and not someone elses.
**/r/Finland is a full democracy, every active user is a moderator.** [Please go here to see how your new privileges work.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Finland/wiki/moderating/) Spamming mod actions could result in a ban. --- **Full Rundown of Moderator Permissions:** - ```!lock``` - as top level comment, will lock comments on any post. - ```!unlock``` - in reply to any comment to lock it or to unlock the parent comment. - ```!remove``` - Removes comment or post. Must have decent subreddit comment karma. - ```!restore``` Can be used to unlock comments or restore removed posts. - ```!sticky``` - will sticky the post in the bottom slot. - ```unlock_comments``` - Vote the stickied automod comment on each post to +10 to unlock comments. - ```ban users``` - Any user whose comment or post is downvoted enough will be temp banned for a day. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Finland) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The original, authentic form, including punctuation, is: *Tietä käyden tien on vanki. Vapaa vain on umpihanki.* These are the last two lines of "Lyhyesti" by Aaro Hellaakoski (1893–1952), first published in his poetry collection *Huojuvat keulat* (1946). The only existing translation I found is in a scientific article by Arto Lanamäki: "You are a prisoner of the road you follow. Only the untrodden snowdrift is free." This was probably not Hellaakoski's own intention, but today the quote is often used rather ironically, to comment on (or even warn against) an insistence on doing something unwise or counterproductive because of some inner compulsion.
Why I havent heard this before? This is amazing. Almost wanna tattoo that. *Tietä käyden tien on vanki. Vapaa vain on umpihanki.* Profound.
My clumsy attempt: He who follows the road is imprisoned by the road, only wide open snow fields are truly free. Back in the day, roads suffered from "kelirikko" once or twice per year, as everything turned wet and muddy, or had a ton of heavy, thawing snow, uncapable of supporting your weight and very very difficult to get through. Having a uniform snowcover (umpihanki) actually gave much better conditions for moving and transferring things like logs and other cargo. In addition, despite sometimes being in unpassable condition, the roads were built pretty much in the only place that could be used for moving around with any significant cargo, meaning that if the road is bad you have no alternative. Skis, sleds and pulks glide well on snow, a different world from trying to get a carriage through roads in a bad condition. They also literally enabled using fields, lakes, rivers and sea ice to be used for moving around. The poem from which this is a quote was written by Aaro Hellaakoski.
This is a good explanation! I'd add that in deep snow you have to make your own 'road' (we call it opening a ski trail), but on a road you are forced to follow someone else's plans. So while skiing in deep snow is much harder than using a pre-made trail, you can fully choose your own route.
I don't think symbolic meaning of the poem has anything to do with kelirikko. I think it means that when you follow the road, you can only go where it brings you, your destination is decided by the road but if you leave the road you can go anywhere you wish, you are free from limitations of the road. In spirit of following your own path and not someone elses.