Roethke-themed poems
This is part of my final for my Whitman, Williams, and Roethke poetry class. I have to write 4-6 pages of poems in the style of Theodore Roethke and I was so amused by these I thought I'd share with y'all.
The Kitten
Small and soft and smooth is the quiet kitten
Purring for all those whom she has smitten
Fur fuzzy and dark, tinged with white
Ears pointed upward, eyes reflecting light
Her claws dig deep but no one seems to care
It’s not her fault, and nothing they can’t bear
First day in the sunshine she frolics, truly free
She disappears and then cries from high within a tree
As she clings tightly to her rescuer’s arm
It seems as if the kitten likes to cause some harm
The Platypus
Nothing is so unusual as the platypus
Place a mirror in his sight to hear him hiss and cuss
With a tail like a beaver, a bill like a duck,
And fur like a seal the poor thing has no luck
Was the platypus God’s joke or simply a mistake?
What does the creature do for us, give or take?
From way down under, both in location and in time
This evolution’s different but the results and just fine
A creature like no other--should we laugh or should we cry?
The funny little being doesn’t care or wonder why
Nonsense!
Teacher stood upon the fox and recited the day’s lesson
Which was “I before you and sea above ocean!”
The class sitting on each other’s backs only stare, guessing.
The fox curls up for sleep and Teacher falls in one smooth motion.
Teacher stands and brushes the dress from her dust.
Student laughs and writes on his pencil with paper.
“Nonsense this is! Stop it I say!” Teacher yells, flushed.
Her face disappears down the bowl; her screams taper.
“I are in charge! You am our slaves!” Student exclaims.
Class is dismissed as Teacher rides the plumbing.
The children run down the brick as clouds cry rains.
Student grabs fox--they can’t go if he isn’t coming.
The sky glows green and the grass is now blue.
Class is jumping off swings landing high in the air.
Student becomes Rodent as fox awakens anew.
He eats his lunch, smiles a bunch, and naps without a care.
Meditations on a Traffic Light
Here I sit, the engine rumbling beneath
The car behind me begins to creep
My curse haunts me toward every destination
Green yellow red holds me at the station
The light is warm, its ruby rays beaming out
Yet I feel cold because of my doubt
I see the clock change minutes again
Red remains steady and there seems no end
My mind urges the unthinking thing to change
I should’ve used a different route, taken another vein
I am late--this is beyond obvious now
Why won’t it change? Does it know how?
Finally the gem becomes emerald and I smile
Happy becomes grim after only a quarter of a mile
Meditations of the Student (End of the Semester)
I. The Day BeforeThe cold hangs heavy like the skyEnd is near, oh godJust one more hour, pleaseThat’s all I need, all I wantThe window is so temptingOne last glance then onward
The silence has more weight than the frigid airCars back in and pull out over and againA lone bird slices the invisible with black bladesThe water is frozen, that slide is uselessNo more outside world, focus now focusWhat the hell do I want to say?
II. The Night BeforeIt hurts--the pain is ridiculousOf course it’s all imagined, you foolJust a few more minutes of scribblingThe pen makes such a lovely scratching soundAs it slides across the paper, jottingNothing of importance here, no sir
III. The Day OfMy body crumbles as it falls into placeWhy is the pen obnoxiously loud now?Death becomes this studentBody and mind ceased functioning long agoWords ink pages drift by in a timeless voidLook, there’s already dirt in my eyes
Crawling back to my hole in the groundFinally, respite and the death of sleepBut no, no time for that nowYou have to finish that other oneAnd the next, just hours to go
The Kitten
Small and soft and smooth is the quiet kitten
Purring for all those whom she has smitten
Fur fuzzy and dark, tinged with white
Ears pointed upward, eyes reflecting light
Her claws dig deep but no one seems to care
It’s not her fault, and nothing they can’t bear
First day in the sunshine she frolics, truly free
She disappears and then cries from high within a tree
As she clings tightly to her rescuer’s arm
It seems as if the kitten likes to cause some harm
The Platypus
Nothing is so unusual as the platypus
Place a mirror in his sight to hear him hiss and cuss
With a tail like a beaver, a bill like a duck,
And fur like a seal the poor thing has no luck
Was the platypus God’s joke or simply a mistake?
What does the creature do for us, give or take?
From way down under, both in location and in time
This evolution’s different but the results and just fine
A creature like no other--should we laugh or should we cry?
The funny little being doesn’t care or wonder why
Nonsense!
Teacher stood upon the fox and recited the day’s lesson
Which was “I before you and sea above ocean!”
The class sitting on each other’s backs only stare, guessing.
The fox curls up for sleep and Teacher falls in one smooth motion.
Teacher stands and brushes the dress from her dust.
Student laughs and writes on his pencil with paper.
“Nonsense this is! Stop it I say!” Teacher yells, flushed.
Her face disappears down the bowl; her screams taper.
“I are in charge! You am our slaves!” Student exclaims.
Class is dismissed as Teacher rides the plumbing.
The children run down the brick as clouds cry rains.
Student grabs fox--they can’t go if he isn’t coming.
The sky glows green and the grass is now blue.
Class is jumping off swings landing high in the air.
Student becomes Rodent as fox awakens anew.
He eats his lunch, smiles a bunch, and naps without a care.
Meditations on a Traffic Light
Here I sit, the engine rumbling beneath
The car behind me begins to creep
My curse haunts me toward every destination
Green yellow red holds me at the station
The light is warm, its ruby rays beaming out
Yet I feel cold because of my doubt
I see the clock change minutes again
Red remains steady and there seems no end
My mind urges the unthinking thing to change
I should’ve used a different route, taken another vein
I am late--this is beyond obvious now
Why won’t it change? Does it know how?
Finally the gem becomes emerald and I smile
Happy becomes grim after only a quarter of a mile
Meditations of the Student (End of the Semester)
I. The Day BeforeThe cold hangs heavy like the skyEnd is near, oh godJust one more hour, pleaseThat’s all I need, all I wantThe window is so temptingOne last glance then onward
The silence has more weight than the frigid airCars back in and pull out over and againA lone bird slices the invisible with black bladesThe water is frozen, that slide is uselessNo more outside world, focus now focusWhat the hell do I want to say?
II. The Night BeforeIt hurts--the pain is ridiculousOf course it’s all imagined, you foolJust a few more minutes of scribblingThe pen makes such a lovely scratching soundAs it slides across the paper, jottingNothing of importance here, no sir
III. The Day OfMy body crumbles as it falls into placeWhy is the pen obnoxiously loud now?Death becomes this studentBody and mind ceased functioning long agoWords ink pages drift by in a timeless voidLook, there’s already dirt in my eyes
Crawling back to my hole in the groundFinally, respite and the death of sleepBut no, no time for that nowYou have to finish that other oneAnd the next, just hours to go