ext_291501 ([identity profile] notyourbroom.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] greatpoetry2006-02-12 03:07 pm
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Theodore Roethke - "The Waking."

I strolled across
An open field;
The sun was out;
Heat was happy.

This way! This way!
The wren's throat shimmered,
Either to other,
The blossoms sang.

The stones sang,
The little ones did,
And flowers jumped
Like small goats.

A ragged fringe
Of daisies waved;
I wasn't alone
In a grove of apples.

Far in the wood
A nestling sighed;
The dew loosened
Its morning smells.

I came where the river
Ran over stones:
My ears knew
An early joy.

And all the waters
Of all the streams
Sang in my veins
That summer day.

// From The Lost Son and Other Poems, 1948. His later "The Waking" is in The Waking, 1953.

Edit: Looking through the archives, I see that the later-written "The Waking" has been posted four times in this community and his "My Papa's Waltz" has been posted thrice; in fact, out of fifteen spread-out postings of Roethke poems, eleven are just repostings of his well-known works. Perhaps I should continue injecting some lesser-known gems of his into the discourse.
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[identity profile] vercharie.livejournal.com 2006-02-13 03:07 am (UTC)(link)
do indeed! there is never enough roethke 'round these parts.