155 Quotes by Theodore Roethke

O my poor words, bear with me.

Epidermal MacabreIndelicate is he who loathesThe aspect of his fleshy clothes,-The flying fabric stitched on bone,The vesture of the skeleton,The garment neither fur nor hair,The cloak of evil and despair,The veil long violated byCaresses of the hand and eye.Yet such is my unseemliness:I hate my epidermal dress,The savage blood's obscenity,The rags of my anatomy,And willingly would I dispenseWith false accouterments of sense,To sleep immodestly, a mostIncarnadine and carnal ghost.

Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.

What we need is more people who specialize in the impossible.

Time marks us while we are marking time.

Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.

A lively understandable spirit Once entertained you. It will come again. Be still. Wait.

God bless the roots! Body and soul are one.

What is madness but nobility of soul at odds with circumstance?