What's greater, Pebble or Pond?
What can be known? The Unknown.
My true self runs toward a Hill
More! O More! visible.
Now I adore my life
With the Bird, the abiding Leaf,
With the Fish, the questing Snail,
And the Eye altering All;
And I dance with William Blake
For love, for Love's sake;
And everything comes to One,
As we dance on, dance on, dance on.
What can be known? The Unknown.
My true self runs toward a Hill
More! O More! visible.
Now I adore my life
With the Bird, the abiding Leaf,
With the Fish, the questing Snail,
And the Eye altering All;
And I dance with William Blake
For love, for Love's sake;
And everything comes to One,
As we dance on, dance on, dance on.
I was so happy when I read this poem. Roethke had hard life
and here it looks as if he finally found his peace. Here Roethke writes of his
life without stress and tension. He starts of by wondering about the unknown
and almost seeing the answers. They get clearer and clearer. The turn in the
poem is on line five and it’s not only the turn of the poem, but it seems it is
also the shift in Roethke’s life. “Now I adore my life.”
Roethke writes that he finds an eye that sees all. In the
Hindu and Buddhist religions, there is a third eye. This is the spiritual eye. When
the other two look out, this one looks inside one’s self. It is used to find
yourself and peace. Roethke believes he has found his third eye. He no longer
feels lost. His questions have been answered and he has found his inner harmony.
He understands and accepts that the world changes and will always change but
now he has the foundation to move with it.
The tone in this poem, changes slightly from stanza to
stanza. The first four lines are filled with seeking, and yearning; chasing the
knowledge that he can feel is just so close. The next six lines are joyous in
the presence of finally finding solace. He learned what he needed. The last two
lines sing of peace and closure. He accepts that the world will continue to
move and dance but now he can dance too.
What is the reference to a pebble and a pond mean?
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