Question:
What does poem means to you?
I Knew a Woman
By Theodore Roethke
I knew a woman, lovely in her bones,
When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them;
Ah, when she moved, she moved more ways than one:
The shapes a bright container can contain!
Of her choice virtues only gods should speak,
Or English poets who grew up on Greek
(I??d have them sing in chorus, cheek to cheek).
How well her wishes went! She stroked my chin,
She taught me Turn, and Counter-turn, and Stand;
She taught me Touch, that undulant white skin;
I nibbled meekly from her proffered hand;
She was the sickle; I, poor I, the rake,
Coming behind her for her pretty sake
(But what prodigious mowing we did make).
Love likes a gander, and adores a goose:
Her full lips pursed, the errant note to seize;
She played it quick, she played it light and loose;
My eyes, they dazzled at her flowing knees;
Her several parts could keep a pure repose,
Or one hip quiver with a mobile nose
(She moved in circles, and those circles moved).
Let seed be grass, and grass turn into hay:
I??m martyr to a motion not my own;
What??s freedom for? To know eternity.
I swear she cast a shadow white as stone.
But who would count eternity in days?
These old bones live to learn her wanton ways:
(I measure time by how a body sways).
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
This poet wrote what he saw and used images to translate his feelings of what he saw. LIke he measures time by how a body sways seems to be saying that if she was young whe would sway smooth and easy but as she got older her swaying would be slower and stiffer.He is telling about her beautey inside and out and how she made wonderful love with him and taught him how to love her.He still desires to learn from her even though lots of time has past,he never tired of her. This is my take on this. I hope it helps. Could be the totally opposite of what you need!