I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I feel my fate in what I cannot fear.
I learn by going where I have to go.
We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
Of those so close behind me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.
Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lonely 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.
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Comments
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the Waking
From guest MaryJ (contact)
this poem has been put to song and released by the great jazz vocalist Kurt Elling and thus has been brought to my attention. I will read more Roethke! -
on The Waking
From guest Tonda (contact)
This poem appeals to me on many levels. First,it is musical. The sound is exquisite. The rhymes within lines and alliteration work beautifully without being showy. The second reason I like it so much is that it is humbly honest. It is like Pilgrim's Progress in brief. I think he is speaking of the believer's inner struggle-awakened awe and adoration toward God pitted against the visible world. Above all, wonder and discovery shimmer from the lines like the author's hope. -
I didn't feel particularly moved or impressed by this one, sad to say. it just felt incomplete to me.
♥ Kimberly -
As far as the images go, the poem ends on 'light takes the trees, but who can tell us how?'
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This is actually a Villanelle...thus the refrains. In a Terza Rima you would also have 3-lined stanzas (tercets), but that is where the similarities end. A Terza Rima has the following rhyme pattern aba bcb cdc ded efe then ends in a final two-line stanza (couplet) that holds the same rhyme as the 2nd line of the previous tercet..in this case ff.
This was a very well done Villanelle. The refrains fit smoothly into their respective stanzas...this is no easy feat...and they also worked together nicely as the closing two lines. I enjoyed reading and will have to explore more by this poet. Elaina
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I really did a bad job on my first assignment for class, and it's really sad because this form seems really easy. I can't believe that I couldn't find a terza rima before now. I really enjoyed reading this piece of art. And I can't wait to read more.
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