Theodore Roethke: The Minimal

Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Search the Poetry Chaikhana site:

<<Previous Poem | View All Poems by Theodore Roethke | Next Poem >>

The Minimal

Theodore Roethke, Theodore Roethke poetry, Secular or Eclectic, Secular or Eclectic poetry, poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry, poetry

by Theodore Roethke
(1908 - 1963) Timeline

Original Language
English

Secular or Eclectic

20th Century

I study the lives on a leaf: the little
Sleepers, numb nudgers in cold dimensions.
Beetles in caves, newts, stone-deaf fishes,
Lice tethered to long limp subterranean weeds,
Squirmers in bogs.
And bacterial creepers
Wriggling through wounds
Like elvers in ponds,
Their wan mouths kissing the warm sutures,
Cleaning and caressing,
Creeping and healing.

-- from Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty, Edited by Alan Jacobs

Amazon.com

Themes

Fire

Pain and Wounding

Water

Recommended Books

	The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke, by Theodore Roethke
	The Glass House: The Life of Theodore Roethke, by Allan Seager
	On Poetry and Craft, by Theodore Roethke
	Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty, Edited by Alan Jacobs
	Straw for the Fire: From the Notebooks of Theodore Roethke, by Theodore Roethke

More >>

<<Previous Poem | More Poems by Theodore Roethke | Next Poem >>

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World