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More poems by Theodore RoethkeTheodore Roethke | Print this page.Print | View and Write CommentsComments (14) | Books by Theodore RoethkeBooks by Theodore Roethke

The Waking

Theodore Roethke

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 beside 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 lowly 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.

Added: 16 Jan 2002 | Last Read: 8 Jun 2025 12:14 AM | Viewed: 36338 times

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URL: http://plagiarist.com/poetry/2501/ | Viewed on 7 June 2025.
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