Theodore Roethke

Theodore Roethke

Michigan / United States
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Theodore Roethke
Michigan / United States
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Friday, January 3, 2003

Journey Into The Interior Comments

Rating: 3.7

In the long journey out of the self,
There are many detours, washed-out interrupted raw places
Where the shale slides dangerously
And the back wheels hang almost over the edge
...
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Theodore Roethke
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COMMENTS
ja 23 September 2021

hoe

0 0 Reply
Anil Kumar Panda 11 July 2018

Very nice poem. Enjoyed very much. Thanks for sharing.

1 8 Reply
Khairul Ahsan 11 July 2018

Frankly speaking, I did not understand the poem fully until I read some of the enlightening comments, particularly those of Lantz Pierre and Robert Murray Smith. Thanks to both.

4 3 Reply
Lungelo S Mbuyazi 11 July 2018

Nice write here... I enjoyed reading it

4 3 Reply
Harley White 11 July 2018

Powerful poem! Theodore Roethke is one of my favorites. I especially love The Waking...

4 1 Reply
Robert Murray Smith 11 July 2018

The poet leads us on a journey out of self. This means in our self-actualisation there are interiorities we recognise and those we cannot. The mind has no hope of pinpointing self for it is a moveable feast resting on the physical nature of the brain/ mind. The poet leads us through many metaphorical settings that seems to recognise this.

6 1 Reply
Khairul Ahsan 11 July 2018

Thank you @Robert Murray Smith, for this wonderful explanation. Your elaboration helped me understand the poem.

0 0
chasbo 21 March 2018

Uh, where's the rest of this poem? It's five times this length. A great, great poem, here bastardized.

7 1 Reply
Edward Kofi Louis 11 July 2017

The long journey! Thanks for sharing this poem with us.

5 15 Reply
Pranab K Chakraborty 11 July 2017

And the back wheels hang almost over the edge At the sudden veering, the moment of turning........................................... Terrible imagery but metaphor is unique.

4 14 Reply
Lantz Pierre 11 July 2017

There are a lot of well-worked-out images in this poem, touching on all the senses. It is visual and muscular and tactile and also very emotional for adroit choices and positioning. It is a visceral poem that goes to the gut, the gut we often refer to as basis to our instincts. And still I'm left feeling, in my head, my thoughts, that I don't fully comprehend the journey that's started in the first line. Out of the self. The movement out of the self is one the implies rejection and repudiation, an attempt to escape what is ultimately inescapable. We can change and evolve, seek therapy or anesthetize ourselves with intoxicants, but we remain ourselves, no one else. But Roethke already foresaw that contradiction in the title. He front-loaded the abstract, intellectual argument of the poem in the title and first line, then took us on a wild ride through the real world where we forget that heady stuff and deal with the real journey. It's a really risky stratagem of balance that, for me at least, gives the poem its ultimate impact. The need at the end to circle around and realize that journey, where ever it takes you, in or out, ultimately always leads back to the self.

5 9 Reply
Seamus O Brian 11 July 2017

It is obvious that you invest time and careful thought into both your reading and your commentary of works posted on this site. I would like to thank you and express that your insights are valued additions to this forum. All the best S

0 0

An unparalleled comment.

0 0
Glen Kappy 11 July 2018

lantz, what i relate this poem to are my mountain bike excursions where i was forced from introspection to give my full attention to the immediacy of the trail—large stones that made the bike frame bounce wildly, cactus on one side, steep drop-offs on the other... i wonder if roethke meant nothing more than this. but this is not a long journey—not for me. perhaps he was a lot more introvert than me? -glen

0 0
Khairul Ahsan 11 July 2018

I have never seen anyone earlier who writes a comment after delving so much deep into the poem. Your comment is an ornament that has adorned the poem so beautifully! Thank you.

0 0
Bernard F. Asuncion 11 July 2017

In the long journey.... Thanks for posting...

6 13 Reply
Michael Cayley 01 July 2011

A powerful use of specific details to convey mood and feelings.

7 2 Reply
Theodore Roethke

Theodore Roethke

Michigan / United States
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Theodore Roethke
Michigan / United States
follow poet
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