The Waking

The repeated lines in this villanelle by Theodore Roethke, "I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow" and "I learn by going where I have to go"evolve in meaning as the poem progresses. Throughout the poem Roethke is trying to espouse to ideals of living easy and being content and simple in one's path through life. "I wake to sleep" is a line which I read to mean that Roethke has an understanding ouf the cycles of life; we wake in the morning only to go to bed at night and we live our lives only to die. The entirety of the poem is Teddy's attempt to reconcile this epiphany with his sense of self, he recognizes that he still has reservations, and "takes his waking slow" but he also recognized the unavoidable truth in the philosophy he is laying out. This poem is very much a celebration of nature( all words from nature are capitalized) for its ability to not tarry too far from the path of life, death and dharma laid out before it. The second repeated line plays of Roethke's will to got through life without expectations and learn from experiences and doing, which is part of sticking to your dharma. The last stanza is a confirmation and a condolence to the readers. He speaks of how this path of perfect harmony is not an easy one to stay upon, but that you will never be far from its philosophy even if you fall away from it temporarily. It is a veil that can never be thrown back across your eyes, and your straying from the path can even help to improve your fortitude to it when you return.