By subscribing to Inspiring Quotes you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Theodore Roethke’s poem “In a Dark Time” opens with an assertion: Hardships clarify who we are and what matters to us most. Without challenges to illuminate needs from wants, we risk taking aspects of our lives for granted. The Pulitzer Prize winner, who lost his father at age 14, understood the necessary alliance between darkness and light. As the poem continues, images are invoked of birds and insects, forests and caves, and the wind and the moon. Roethke believed his lifelong pull toward nature came from his father, who had owned and operated a 25-acre greenhouse in Michigan. “In a Dark Time” was included in Roethke’s posthumous 1964 book “The Far Field,” which won him his second National Book Award for Poetry.
Inspiring Snippets From Abraham Lincoln’s Most Memorable Speeches
13 Quotes About the Magic of Winter
11 Fiery Quotes for the Year of the Dragon
12 of the All-Time Greatest Zingers
The Best Lyrics To Come Out of the British Invasion
16 Helpful Quotes To Read When Your Relationship Is Struggling
Get Inspired To Give Back With These Quotes
How To Find Closure, in Quotes
How Crafting Can Transform Your Life, in Quotes
14 Reminders That You’re Loved, for Anyone Who Feels Lonely
How to Live a Full Life, According to French Philosopher Michel de Montaigne