Quotessence
Home / Authors / Theodore Roethke
Theodore Roethke

Theodore Roethke Quotes

Poet

Filter quotes by topic

AllPoetryPoemLoveLightLifeWritingTeachingWaterKnowsStonesMadnessSoulSpiritBodyDarkDesireFireHeartInspirationalJoy

Famous Theodore Roethke Quotes

“What's madness but nobility of soul At odds with circumstance? The day's on fire! I know the purity of pure despair, My shadow pinned against a sweating wall, That place among the rocks--is it a cave, Or winding path? The edge is what I have........ ....... Dark,dark my light, and darker my desire. My soul, like some heat-maddened summer fly, Keeps buzzing at the sill. ~From "The Waking" by Theodore Roethke”

KnowsSoulLightDesireDarkPathFireRocksWallCircumstancesPureDespairSummerShadowMadnessEdgesMy SoulHeatPurityWakingOddsCavesNobilitySweatingTheodore
Author:Theodore Roethke
Create image

“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.”

MenWorldLightSpiritualityWaterMemoriesSilenceTreeScenePureMountainStonesBlueShiningSnowIceBelovedOne ManShadeGardeningBeesFrozenFiniteSereneRippleSlopesOdorShine On
Author:Theodore Roethke
Create image

“Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how? The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair; I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. Great Nature has another thing to do To you and me, so take the lively air, And, lovely, learn by going where to go. This shaking keeps me steady. I should know. What falls away is always. And is near. I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I learn by going where I have to go.”

KnowsShouldLightFallSleepAirTreeLovelyThings To DoClimbsWakingSteadyWormsShakingStairsLively
Book:The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke
Create image