Quotes by Theodore Roethke

About Theodore Roethke:

Theodore Huebner Roethke is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Those who are willing to be vulnerable move among mysteries.

Theodore Roethke

My father is a fish.

Theodore Roethke

Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.

Theodore Roethke

A lively understandable spirit Once entertained you. It will come again. Be still. Wait.

Theodore Roethke

The soul has many motions, body one.

Theodore Roethke

I learn by going where I have to go.

Theodore Roethke

A mind too active is no mind at all.

Theodore Roethke

What is madness but nobility of soul at odds with circumstance.

Theodore Roethke

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.

Theodore Roethke

The stones were sharp, The wind came at my back; Walking along the highway, Mincing like a cat.

Theodore Roethke

Dark, dark my light, and darker my desire. My soul, like some heat-maddened summer fly, Keeps buzzing at the sill. Which I is I?

Theodore Roethke

By daily dying, I have come to be.

Theodore Roethke

(Dreams drain the spirit if we dream too long.)

Theodore Roethke

The Geranium When I put her out, once, by the garbage pail, She looked so limp and bedraggled, So foolish and trusting, like a sick poodle, Or a wizened aster in late September, I brought her back in again For a new routine - Vitamins, water, and wha...

Theodore Roethke

What grace I have is enough.

Theodore Roethke

When true love broke my heart in half, I took the whiskey from the shelf, And told my neighbors when to laugh. I keep a dog, and bark myself.

Theodore Roethke

from My truths are all foreknown, This anguish self-revealed. I'm naked to the bone, With nakedness my shield. Myself is what I wear: I keep the spirit spare.

Theodore Roethke

Love alters all. Unblood my instinct, love.

Theodore Roethke

from I left my home with unencumbered will And all the rubbish of confusion sold.

Theodore Roethke

I do not laugh; I do not cry; I'm sweating out the will to die. My past is sliding down the drain; I soon will be myself again.

Theodore Roethke

Author Bio

  • NameTheodore Roethke
  • DescriptionAmerican poet
  • BornMay 25, 1908
  • DiedAugust 1, 1963
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionPoet; Writer
  • AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship; Bollingen Prize; Pulitzer Prize For Poetry; National Book Award