The sun! The sun! And all we can become!
And the time ripe for running to the moon!
In this quotation, the narrator contemplates his own mortality. The sun is representative of our time on Earth. The sun’s inherent light and warmth speaks to the joy-filled time during which we get to spend our days living on this Earth—the day. The moon, by comparison, represents the dark part of our lives—the night. Roethke’s phrasing—the “time ripe” for going to the moon—suggests that the narrator’s death is imminent and perhaps welcome.
I know the purity of pure despair,
My shadow pinned against a sweating wall.
In this stanza, the narrator describes his “shadow” as being pinned against a wall. This shadow the narrator speaks of is likely symbolic of the narrator’s alter ego. This alter personality could perhaps be better described as the darker side of the narrator’s soul; it embodies the narrator’s darkest, most disturbing hopes and desires.
Beginner,
Perpetual beginner,
The soul knows not what to believe[...]
This poem about the contemplation of impending death confronts the thoughts and emotions that many humans share about dying. In these lines, which open the poem, the narrator is suggesting that our soul is in a perpetual (constant) state of beginning. It’s constantly searching for new information, new life, and new inspiration. And yet, as it nears its expiry date, it does not know how to comprehend the possibility that it may soon cease to exist. In this short quotation, author Roethke is suggesting that humans are in a perpetually false state of immortality. We like to believe that we are immortal; that our souls and beings are perpetual. And yet, we must confront the reality that—just as everything lives—everything must also die.
In a dark time, the eye begins to see.
This brief but powerful line opens “In A Dark Time.” It encapsulates the essence of this poem and the poem’s theme. It is suggestive of the idea that, sometimes it is only in our darkest moments and through our deepest times of despair that we are able to truly find ourselves. It conveys the idea that despair, solitude, and loss can help individuals attain better insight into themselves—insight that will ultimately enrich their lives for the better. Times of despair—dark times—test the very fiber of our being and beliefs and in doing so help us to isolate the truest versions of ourselves.
I hear my echo in the echoing wood-- A lord of nature weeping to a tree.
The echo that the narrator describes here likely describes how the narrator sees himself reflected in nature. This idea of a person’s reflection being derived from nature likely stems from author’s Roethke’s own fascination with nature. For Roethke, nature is often a powerful source of insight and awareness. As a result, this echo that the narrator hears is likely that of himself, projected and reflected in the nature he’s surrounded by.
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
This poem details the narrator’s brutal memories of his alcoholic and abusive father. This short stanza, which opens the poem, immediately sets the tone for the remainder of the poem and alerts the reader to what they’re about to read. The narrator begins by describing his father’s breath, which so tainted with whiskey that it could make “a small boy dizzy.” Next, the narrator proclaims that he “hung on like death.” Here, the narrator is referring to his own life and sanity. Just as death is an inevitable presence over all of us, so too was the narrator’s father’s drunken abuse. The waltz the narrator describes is a proverbial one. Due to his father’s abusive and unpredictable behavior, the narrator is in a constant dance-like state, where he must tread carefully so as to avoid his father’s abusive tirades.
I live between the heron and the wren,
Beasts of the hill and serpents of the den.
Given Roethke’s experience and fascination with mental health—he spent some time in a mental health institution himself—this stanza like refers to the metaphorical highs and lows that someone who suffers from mental health problems would likely experience. The heron and the wren represent the proverbial “highs”—the happy and joyful times. Herons swim and float freely through streams, whilst wrens float high above the clouds. Both represent freedom and ease. The beasts and serpents, by comparison, represent the proverbial lows. Beasts and serpents are sly. They lurk in the shadows, much like our darkest thoughts. They are representative of the times of despair and sorrow we experience in life.
