Night Journey - A poem by Theodore Roethke

Theodore Roethke - Night Journey

Now as the train bears west,
Its rhythm rocks the earth,
And from my Pullman berth
I stare into the night
While others take their rest.
Bridges of iron lace,
A suddenness of trees,
A lap of mountain mist
All cross my line of sight,
Then a bleak wasted place,
And a lake below my knees.
Full on my neck I feel
The straining at a curve;
My muscles move with steel,
I wake in every nerve.
I watch a beacon swing
From dark to blazing bright;
We thunder through ravines
And gullies washed with light.
Beyond the mountain pass
Mist deepens on the pane;
We rush into a rain
That rattles double glass.
Wheels shake the roadbed stone,
The pistons jerk and shove,
I stay up half the night
To see the land I love.

Added: on March 24th, 2005 at 11:48 PM | Viewed: 7030 times | Comments (7)

Night Journey - Comments and Information
Poet: Theodore Roethke Poem: Night Journey Comment 7 of 7, added on July 25th, 2006 at 7:09 PM. I think this is an excellent poem that demonstrates such a rich spectrum of emotion, coupling it with a delicate mix of descriptive language. As I reader I reckon it's so easy to be swept up in the emotions Roethke is feeling, and for that it is extremely effective. I had fun analysing this. I Don't really know where Mr Vitale is coming from in this... shrug Maybe he just can't read between the lines :-) Sammyjo from Australia Comment 6 of 7, added on April 26th, 2005 at 4:59 PM. sorry mr vitale, but i dont think anyone who cannot spell out an entire word or needs to replace it with numbers has any business judging literature at all. savna Comment 5 of 7, added on March 24th, 2005 at 11:48 PM. I am a deep and sincere colleague of Mr. Vitale from Italy and I must agree that good diction comes from Harry Potter and even more remarkably through Mr. Vitale's Secret Poems of Life. I read that and cried for days. I never knew the crazy guy had all those deep emotions in him. I love you man. McGrath McGrath from United States More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Night Journey, has received 7 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Theodore Roethke with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!

Poem Info
Night Journey Last read: 2008-07-18 03:50:31 Viewed 7030 times. Added on March 24th, 2005 at 11:48 PM.

Roethke Info
Biography More Poems (22 poems) Books