In his poems, Roethke describes the relationship between nature and man. Focusing on natural energy, he shows us the organic processes of nature and urges the reader to feel a similar process within human consciousness. His descriptions of the seasons and scenery of the natural world parallel changes within the human mind and reveal a new meaning of life. Searching for a hidden reality brought forth by nature in mystical moments, he believes that nature is as physical and spiritual as a human being. He thinks that the human self evolves when it touches the source of the life force in nature. Roethke’s poems deal with the natural energy of the sun and indicate that the same power is locked up in the human body. He believes, so to speak, that rivers run in our veins and that the sea is our eternal home. He shows us that human life is a part of nature, and that nature teaches us what we need to know. The poet waits and prepares himself to receive the sudden mystical spirit that comes and wakes him. He believes that there is an immense growth of the self when it gains a feeling of ‘oneness’ with nature. Entering the center of universal life and joining its cycle, the self becomes all and eternal. Roethke’s poems place the natural world within our consciousness, accompanied by a kind of enlightenment.