--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have come to a still, but not a deep…" description: "\"I have come to a still, but not a deep center, A point outside the glittering current; My eyes stare at the bottom of a river,\" — Theodore Roethke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/theodore-roethke-4077_things-happen-for-a_i-have-come-to-a-still-but-not-a-deep-ce_1392340.jpg" --- # I have come to a still, but not a deep center, A point… ![“I have come to a still, but not a deep center, A point outside the glittering current; My eyes stare at the bottom of a river,” quote by Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/theodore-roethke-4077_things-happen-for-a_i-have-come-to-a-still-but-not-a-deep-ce_1392340.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/theodore-roethke-4077_things-happen-for-a_i-have-come-to-a-still-but-not-a-deep-ce_1392340.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/theodore-roethke-4077_things-happen-for-a_i-have-come-to-a-still-but-not-a-deep-ce_1392340.jpg) > “I have come to a still, but not a deep center, A point outside the glittering current; My eyes stare at the bottom of a river,” [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poet describes a still, shallow place where the gaze meets the river’s depth, suggesting contemplation of surface versus hidden currents. **In simple terms:** Contemplating surface and hidden depths. Key Takeaway Look beyond appearances. Themes poetry contemplation nature Mood reflective tranquil thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - meditation - writing - nature walks - artistic inspiration Key Concepts stillness river imagery depth reflection Questions to Reflect On - What hidden currents lie beneath your calm moments? - How does stillness reveal inner depth? A Different Perspective Focusing only on surface may miss deeper truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Things happen for a reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen-for-a-reason/) ## Related quotes > [Close your eyes and stare into the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/close-your-eyes-and-stare-into-the-dark/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [“The male glance has often been described. It is commonly said to rest coldly on a woman, measuring, weighing, evaluating, selecting her--in other words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-male-glance-has-often-been-described-it-is-commonly-said-to-rest/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“And never think that Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. 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War on the destiny of man! Doom on the sun! Before death takes you, O take back this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-on-the-destiny-of-man-doom-on-the-sun-before-death-takes-you-o/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Lt. Carson: My grandmother was a full-bodied Cherokee Indian. Lili: How exciting. Lt. Carson: It was for my grandfather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lt-carson-my-grandmother-was-a-full-bodied-cherokee-indian-lili-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The sensible person is always serious about sensible advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/the-sensible-person-is-always-serious-about-sensible-advice/) Mak\_786 > [What are the height of men who are getting smaller day by day / the Thysis and Research, may be subject to both virgin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/what-are-the-height-of-men-who-are-getting-smaller-day-by-day-the/) Mak\_786 ## More by Theodore Roethke > [I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow. I feel my fate in what I cannot fear. 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Wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/a-lively-understandable-spirit-once-entertained-you-it-will-come/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [I came to love, I came into my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-came-to-love-i-came-into-my-own/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [I bleed my bones, their marrow to bestowUpon that God who knows what I would know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-bleed-my-bones-their-marrow-to-bestowupon-that-god-who-knows-what-i/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [All finite things reveal infinitude: The mountain with its singular bright shade Like the blue shine on freshly frozen snow, The after-light upon ice-burdened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/all-finite-things-reveal-infinitude-the-mountain-with-its-singular/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [We think by feeling. What is there to know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/we-think-by-feeling-what-is-there-to-know/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [I can hear, underground, that sucking and sobbing, In my veins, in my bones I feel it,- The small water seeping upward, The tight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-can-hear-underground-that-sucking-and-sobbing-in-my-veins-in-my/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/over-every-mountain-there-is-a-path-although-it-may-not-be-seen-from/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [(I measure time by how a body sways.)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-measure-time-by-how-a-body-sways/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [To follow the drops sliding from a lifting oar, Head up, while the rower breathes, and the small boat drifts quietly shoreward...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/to-follow-the-drops-sliding-from-a-lifting-oar-head-up-while-the/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Any fool can take a bad line out of a poem; it takes a real pro to throw out a good line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/any-fool-can-take-a-bad-line-out-of-a-poem-it-takes-a-real-pro-to/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Love begets love. This torment is my joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/love-begets-love-this-torment-is-my-joy/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [“I Knew a Woman" I knew a woman, lovely in her bones, When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them; Ah, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-knew-a-woman-i-knew-a-woman-lovely-in-her-bones-when-small-birds/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [A mind too active is no mind at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/a-mind-too-active-is-no-mind-at-all/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) [Explore all 116 Theodore Roethke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) ## More River quotes > [The least unhappy persons do, in so fickle and so tempestuous a sea as this world, meet with many more either cross winds or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-boyle/the-least-unhappy-persons-do-in-so-fickle-and-so-tempestuous-a-sea-as/) [Robert Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-boyle/) > [Somehow the river is louder when you cover your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/somehow-the-river-is-louder-when-you-cover-your-ears/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [“The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-river-itself-is-not-a-hundred-yards-across-and-pa-and-vernon-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [One of the unique things is that whether we were out at sea or in the middle of the water tank, a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-reilly/one-of-the-unique-things-is-that-whether-we-were-out-at-sea-or-in-the/) [John C. Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-reilly/) > [“It’s a big ocean crossed by busy ships. I went slowly, observing much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/it-s-a-big-ocean-crossed-by-busy-ships-i-went-slowly-observing-much/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Life is like the ocean. It can be calm and still or rough and rigid but in the end, it is always beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-like-the-ocean-it-can-be-calm-and-still-or-rough-and-rigid/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I always like to look for adventure when I go away. I have gone on several horse adventures with my wife - from Guangxi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/i-always-like-to-look-for-adventure-when-i-go-away-i-have-gone-on/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [I've never been far from the river. I'm sort of like a Thames-nymph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/i-ve-never-been-far-from-the-river-i-m-sort-of-like-a-thames-nymph/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [“Mungu akikubariki kipaji chako watu watasema ni laana. Maisha yako ni sawa na mto. Unakoelekea ni baharini. Lakini sasa umefika kwenye mlango wa bahari.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-akikubariki-kipaji-chako-watu-watasema-ni-laana-maisha-yako-ni/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [Little leaks sink the ship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/little-leaks-sink-the-ship/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/ships-at-a-distance-have-every-man-s-wish-on-board-for-some-they-come/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [The tides which flow and lapse in the Bristol Channel are often distained by the freshets of many streams falling through wooded coombes below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/the-tides-which-flow-and-lapse-in-the-bristol-channel-are-often/) [Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/) > [If you ask an actor what he'd prefer to act on, he'd probably say a tangible, real set, or even better, a real location…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/if-you-ask-an-actor-what-he-d-prefer-to-act-on-he-d-probably-say-a/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [In the road ships must ride in 30, 40, or 50 fathom water, not above half a mile from the shore at farthest: and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dampier/in-the-road-ships-must-ride-in-30-40-or-50-fathom-water-not-above/) [William Dampier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dampier/) > [I finished 'Hell or High Water' and started writing 'Wind River' literally the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-sheridan/i-finished-hell-or-high-water-and-started-writing-wind-river/) [Taylor Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-sheridan/) [Browse all 3,638 River quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have come to a still, but not a deep center, A point outside the glittering current; My eyes stare at the bottom of a river,", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Theodore Roethke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-have-come-to-a-still-but-not-a-deep-center-a-point-outside-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "River" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-have-come-to-a-still-but-not-a-deep-center-a-point-outside-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/theodore-roethke-4077_things-happen-for-a_i-have-come-to-a-still-but-not-a-deep-ce_1392340.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/theodore-roethke-4077_things-happen-for-a_i-have-come-to-a-still-but-not-a-deep-ce_1392340.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/theodore-roethke-4077_things-happen-for-a_i-have-come-to-a-still-but-not-a-deep-ce_1392340.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have come to a still, but not a deep center, A point outside the glittering current; My eyes stare at the…” — Theodore Roethke", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Theodore Roethke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have come to a still,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-have-come-to-a-still-but-not-a-deep-center-a-point-outside-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-have-come-to-a-still-but-not-a-deep-center-a-point-outside-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```