Theodore Roethke Quotes:
Ocupation: Poet
Life: May 25, 1908 - August 1, 1963
Birthday: May 25
Death: August 1
My Papa's Waltz: The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle; At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle. You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt.
topic: Mother, Boys, Hands, Waltz
