The Survivor - A poem by Theodore Roethke

Theodore Roethke - The Survivor

I am twenty-four
led to slaughter
I survived.

The following are empty synonyms:
man and beast
love and hate
friend and foe
darkness and light.

The way of killing men and beasts is the same
I've seen it:
truckfuls of chopped-up men
who will not be saved.

Ideas are mere words:
virtue and crime
truth and lies
beauty and ugliness
courage and cowardice.

Virtue and crime weigh the same
I've seen it:
in a man who was both
criminal and virtuous.

I seek a teacher and a master
may he restore my sight hearing and speech
may he again name objects and ideas
may he separate darkness from light.

I am twenty-four
led to slaughter
I survived.

Added: on January 13th, 2005 at 3:13 PM | Viewed: 7554 times | Comments (6)

The Survivor - Comments and Information
Poet: Theodore Roethke Poem: The Survivor Comment 6 of 6, added on June 16th, 2005 at 9:54 AM. I am bewildered to see how the masterpiece "Ocalony", originally written by Tadeusz Różewicz, a Polish poet, in 1947 and translated by Adam Czerniawski as "The Survivor", is being appropriated by/ascribed to an American poet. This poem certainly IS NOT a piece by Theodore Roethke which will hopefully be acknowledged by PoetryConnection.net and its guests. Dariusz Skórczewski from Poland Comment 5 of 6, added on June 6th, 2005 at 1:36 AM. Wow. What a glorious poem. Absolutely beautiful. He addresses that one maddening principal of war (entirely) that it goes against everything we know, or should know, against everything that we were taught or should be taught. The narrator talks about a confusion, where because of the war he can't tell these things apart any more, they are all the same because of the war. Men and animals, love and hate, light and darkness, truth and lies. Now remember the man is only 24. At the end he asks for a teacher, another teacher, to help him figure it all out. He's helpless, and so confused, he needs to separate light from darkness, truth from lies. It's beautiful. Daniel from Saint Kitts and Nevis Comment 4 of 6, added on January 13th, 2005 at 3:13 PM. ok well i think the same but how do u know it was not by him thou? yancey from United States More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, The Survivor, has received 6 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
The Survivor Last read: 2008-07-23 17:50:16 Viewed 7554 times. Added on January 13th, 2005 at 3:13 PM.

Roethke Info
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