Some of it is truly mind-boggling.

Take those swampy and phlegmy poems for example. They are so strange and complex that they seem to come from a different world.

Then there's that crap like the much-anthologized "My Papa's Waltz". It's just not to my taste.

However, I'm glad to have rediscovered him.

What's good here is truly unique and unlike anything else I've read.

It has this power to put me in touch with something long-forgotten within myself.

Maybe it's a memory, an emotion, or a thought that I had buried deep down.

Reading his works again has opened up a new world for me and made me see things from a different perspective.

I'm excited to explore more of his writings and see what other hidden treasures I can uncover.

Who knows, maybe there are more surprises waiting for me.

Book #1: Open House (1941)

In "Prognosis," Roethke uses powerful lines to depict the influence of parents. The devouring mother's cry of "Escape me? Never---" and the spoiling of the honeymoon by a father's ghost create a vivid picture. In "The Premonition," his father's face is lost in a maze of water. His famous poem about a bat, "The Bat," describes the bat's characteristics and its actions at night. The poem ends with "Night Journey," which takes the reader on a train ride west, with vivid descriptions of the scenery and the narrator's feelings.

Book #2: The Lost Son and Other Poems (1948)

Roethke has several memorable poems in Part I about helping his father with gardening. In Part II, one of his greatest poems, "My Papa’s Waltz," tells the story of a child's waltz with his father. The poem has a unique rhythm and tone. Another favorite opening line is in "Dolor": "I have known the inexorable sadness of pencils."

Book #2: Praise to the End! (1951)

This collection consists mostly of what could be called WTF poems today.

Book #3: The Waking (1953)

It includes the great poem "Elegy for Jane," which is a touching tribute to a student who was thrown by a horse. The poem is full of beautiful imagery and emotions. And of course, there is his most famous and perhaps best poem, "The Waking," with its profound and thought-provoking lines.

Book #4: Words for the Wind (1958)

This is an unusual collection of children's poems, love poems, and death poems. It contains the great love poem "I Knew a Woman," which describes a woman's beauty and charm.

Book #5: I Am! Says the Lamb (1961)

Filled with fun nonsense poems like "The Donkey," this book provides light-hearted entertainment.

Book #6: The Far Field (1964)

It has great animal poems such as "The Meadow Mouse" and "The Pike." The poems vividly describe the lives and behaviors of these animals.

The collection ends with Uncollected Poems, a fitting conclusion to the works of a master poet.

The book is actually excellent.

It offers a wealth of knowledge and insights that can truly enrich the reader's understanding. The author's writing style is engaging and easy to follow, making it accessible to a wide range of audiences.

The content is well-structured, with each chapter building upon the previous one to create a comprehensive and cohesive whole.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced reader, this book has something to offer. It can serve as a valuable resource for learning new concepts, expanding your vocabulary, and improving your overall language skills.

In addition, the book is also filled with interesting examples and real-life scenarios that help to illustrate the points being made. This makes the learning process more enjoyable and memorable.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a great read that will both educate and entertain.

All women loved dance in a dying light. This beautiful and somewhat mysterious line sets a certain tone. Oxfam gem! My writing mentor recommended this to me as my work reminded him of Roethke's "Memory". In retrospect, it was truly a grand compliment because that is one of his best pieces. Roethke clearly believed in reworking the essence of the greats and paying homage. His references included Blake, WCW, Yeats, and Auden, to name just a few. Interestingly, there is a plot twist as Roethke then influenced Sylvia Plath. However, many of his poems felt like dogged reiterations of the same idea. One can only read about light, desire, leaf, death, and stone so many times. Yes, these are essentials of life, but in a collection of this size, more evolution was expected. And then, Roethke went off and wrote a string of nonsense poems that wouldn't be out of place in the oeuvre of Lewis Carroll. It was a bizarre choice, but it was fine.

He did emerge victorious on a line level. His lines were stupendous! But his poems as a whole didn't often rivet me. I think Roethke would have been an entertaining professor though. I read that he once climbed through his classroom's window and made faces at his students from outside. There is also a tender ode to a student who died young found in this collection. You can tell that Roethke's Christian roots lingered, alongside his interest in mysticism. "Make me, O Lord, at last, a simple thing / Time cannot overwhelm."

This gentle shaking serves as my anchor, keeping me steady in the face of uncertainty. I should know, for I have witnessed the ebb and flow of life. What seems to fall away is always, in some mysterious way, still near.

I wake from the slumber of dreams into the realm of reality, and I choose to take my waking slow. There is a beauty in the gradual awakening, in the moment when the world comes into focus.

I have learned that growth and understanding come from going where I have to go. It is not always the path of least resistance, but it is the one that leads to self-discovery and enlightenment.

Each step forward is a lesson, each experience a building block of my journey. And so, I embrace the shaking, the waking, and the going, knowing that it is all part of the process of becoming who I am meant to be.

I often find myself turning to the works of Roethke when I am in need of a reminder of the less analytical side of life. His poetry is truly beautiful and has the remarkable ability to relax the boundaries of our mundane experiences.

Reading and re-reading his words allows me to escape from the pressures of daily life and enter a world of pure emotion and imagination. The cadence and rhythm of his poetry have a soothing effect on the mind, calming the chaos and allowing for a moment of peace and reflection.

Roethke's work is a testament to the power of language and the ability of poetry to touch the deepest parts of our souls. It serves as a reminder that there is more to life than just the rational and the analytical, and that sometimes, it is important to let go and simply experience the beauty and wonder of the world around us.

My favorite poet is a truly remarkable individual who is definitely worth owning.

His works are like precious gems that sparkle with profound wisdom and unique perspectives.

Whenever I read his poems, I am transported to a different world, a world filled with vivid imagery and intense emotions.

His words have the power to touch my heart and soul, making me reflect on life, love, and everything in between.

Each poem is a masterpiece, carefully crafted with precision and artistry.

The rhythm and flow of his verses are simply enchanting, captivating my attention from the very first line.

His use of language is both beautiful and evocative, painting pictures in my mind that I will never forget.

Overall, my favorite poet is a source of inspiration and joy for me, and I am truly grateful to have discovered his wonderful works.

I would highly recommend his poetry to anyone who has a love for literature and a desire to explore the depths of human emotion.

He is a poet worth owning, and his words will continue to resonate with me for a lifetime.

Roethke isn't my favorite poet, but he does have a few works that I truly loved.

Many of the poems in this collection are rich in imagery. However, reading too many of them consecutively can be exhausting and feels similar to looking at a photoshoot of various natural scenes. Although all of them are beautiful, they lack my favorite part of poetry: a particularly urgent emotion that cries out to be written.

Some of the poems also seem extremely idiosyncratic and almost meaningless without Roethke's lived experience. The variegated symbols don't quite align into a coherent theme.

But the best of his work was amazing. The first poem I ever read by Roethke, "My Papa's Waltz", is a good representative of his best work. Similar in some respects to Bogan's style, Roethke's love poems and musings on death were dense with complexity and made beautiful pirouettes around their subject.

As usual, the ones I liked best were in form, but poems like "Journey to the Interior" moved me enough to make note of without following a specific structure.

Some references or similar themes include "Pure Fury" in Bogan's Medusa and Paradise Lost's Sin (The Fury), "The Far Field" in Frost's West-Running Brook (especially the third and fourth stanzas), and "The Tranced" which is similar to my poem "Entranced".

Here's my poem and you can find his online if you want to compare.

"Entranced"

Let’s shed our shells tonight

And watch something truer glisten

In one white point of light

Transcending our veiled existence.

The air between our eyes

Is shuttled through by light and awed

By tenderness descried;

As medium through which farce thaws.

Brown and one step greener

Out of blur define the other—

Are less pure and yet cleaner

Than cut stones are— To this amber

Sunlight soon will return;

Our irises resume pretense

Once more, but once we’ve learned,

Always we’ll see th’other’s essence.

Anyway, Roethke overuses some symbols (he dances quite a lot) but also makes poetic connections between distant symbols that encapsulate the idea he has dancing in his mind (ha ha meta joke). All in all, it's very much worth the read, but it can be tedious at times.

I think Bogan was more controlled in her style and there is an almost total lack of laziness in her work. The only point I remember an absence of the semblance of her absolutely compelling intent was in "Poem in Prose", which works in its own sense.

Roethke seemed to have more unfinished and unrefined pieces. The two were in a relationship, so it makes sense that there's a lot of overlap in what they write, but I definitely prefer Bogan. I have yet to read another poet so consistently powerful and emotive as her.

I'm about to finish John Koethe's "Sally's Hair" next, and I have a lot to say about that one too.

This was a pretty long review, but I'm procrastinating so whatever.

What do the worms say?

Worms are small and often overlooked creatures that inhabit the soil. But have you ever wondered what they might be saying?

Perhaps they are communicating with each other about the best places to find food or the safest spots to hide. Maybe they are sharing information about the changing seasons or the presence of predators.

Although we can't understand their language, we can observe their behavior and learn from them. Worms play an important role in the ecosystem by aerating the soil, decomposing organic matter, and providing food for other animals.

So the next time you see a worm, take a moment to think about what it might be saying. Maybe it has a message for us about the importance of taking care of our planet and the delicate balance of nature.

4/5 Stars (%79/100)

In my view, it is truly disheartening that this remarkable poet has only a total of 7200 ratings on Goodreads. Roethke's poetry deserves to be known by a wider audience. He endured numerous difficulties in his life, which significantly influenced his writing style. His poems are deeply sorrowful and can evoke a sense of hopelessness in the reader. Moreover, the imagery in all of his poems is outstanding. My personal favorites are "The Waking," which is a classic, and "Wish for a Young Wife." As he was on the verge of death, he expressed his wish for a healthy and long life for his young wife, which adds a poignant touch to the poem. Overall, Roethke's poetry is a hidden gem that more people should discover and appreciate.

Greenhouses!

Greenhouses are structures that are designed to create a controlled environment for plants to grow. They are usually made of glass or plastic and are used to protect plants from extreme weather conditions, such as frost, heat, and wind.

In a greenhouse, the temperature, humidity, and light can be adjusted to meet the specific needs of different plants. This allows for year-round cultivation of a wide variety of plants, regardless of the season.

Greenhouses are also used in commercial agriculture to increase crop yields and improve the quality of produce. By providing a consistent and optimal growing environment, farmers can ensure that their plants grow healthy and strong, resulting in higher profits.

In addition to their practical uses, greenhouses can also be a beautiful addition to any garden or landscape. They can be designed in a variety of styles and sizes to match the surrounding architecture and provide a unique and inviting space for plants and people alike.

Overall, greenhouses are an important and versatile tool for plant cultivation and horticulture. Whether you are a professional farmer or a home gardener, a greenhouse can help you achieve better results and enjoy the beauty of plants all year round.

I'm not entirely certain that I have a fondness for Roethke's poetry.

To be honest, I found it extremely challenging to engage with.

His works seem to be filled with complex imagery and convoluted language that makes it hard for me to penetrate the deeper meanings.

Perhaps it's because my literary sensibilities are not attuned to his particular style.

However, I'm willing to give it another try and see if I can discover the hidden gems within his poems.

Maybe with more time and effort, I'll be able to appreciate the beauty and artistry that others seem to find in Roethke's poetry.

But for now, I remain somewhat hesitant and unsure.