“Nothing would sleep in that cellar, dank as a ditch”
"Root Cellar," l. 1
The Lost Son and Other Poems (1948)
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Theodore Roethke 86
American poet 1908–1963Related quotes
“I took her from rags right through to stitches,
Oh baby, tonight we sleep in separate ditches.”
Song lyrics, The Bad Seed EP (1993), Deep in the Woods
The Absolute at Large (1921)
Context: I've tried all isolating materials that might possibly prevent the Absolute from getting out of the cellar: ashes, sand, metal walls, but nothing can stop it. I've even tried lining the cellar walls with the works of Professors Krejci, Spencer, and Haeckle, all the Positivists you can think of; if you can believe it, the Absolute penetrates even things like that.
“Born in a cellar, and living in a garret.”
The Author (1757), Act ii. Compare: "Born in the garret, in the kitchen bred", Lord Byron, A Sketch; "I came up stairs into the world, for I was born in a cellar" William Congreve, Love for Love, Act ii, Scene 7.
“Like searching at midnight in a dark cellar for a black cat that isn’t there.”
Source: Starman Jones (1953), Chapter 11, “Through the Cargo Hatch” (p. 115)
“I came up stairs into the world, for I was born in a cellar.”
Act II, scene vii; comparable to: "Born in a cellar, and living in a garret", Samuel Foote, The Author, act 2; "Born in the garret, in the kitchen bred", Lord Byron, A Sketch
Love for Love (1695)