Theodore Roethke
Theodore Roethke
Theodore Huebner Roethkewas an American poet. He published several volumes of award-winning and critically acclaimed poetry. Roethke is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth25 May 1908
CountryUnited States of America
light white water
I learned not to fear infinity, The far field, the windy cliffs of forever, The dying of time in the white light of tomorrow, The wheel turning away from itself, The sprawl of the wave, The on-coming water.
cutting water break-out
I can hear, underground, that sucking and sobbing, In my veins, in my bones I feel it,- The small water seeping upward, The tight grains parting at last. When sprouts break out, Slippery as fish, I quail, lean to beginnings, sheath-wet.
character
I learn by going where I have to go.
art mean damage
Art is the means we have of undoing the damage of haste. It's what everything else isn't.
intuition mind intelligence
A mind too active is no mind at all.
philosophy philosophical dying
By daily dying, I have come to be.
long water together
I lose and find myself in the long water. I am gathered together once more.
positivity odds soul
What is madness but nobility of soul at odds with circumstance?
morning light air
And I walked, I walked through the light air; I moved with the morning.
moving religion gardening
Those who are willing to be vulnerable move among mysteries.
memories men shine-on
All finite things reveal infinitude: The mountain with its singular bright shade Like the blue shine on freshly frozen snow, The after-light upon ice-burdened pines; Odor of basswood upon a mountain slope, A scene beloved of bees; Silence of water above a sunken tree: The pure serene of memory of one man,- A ripple widening from a single stone Winding around the waters of the world.
god needs terrible
How terrible the need for God.
silence may accuracy
May my silences become more accurate.
song teach sigh
I teach my sighs to lengthen into songs.