One of Theodore Roethke’sRoethke, a popular poet fromof the twentieth century, mostwrote the highly praised poems ispoem, “My Papa’s Waltz”. This poem, which was thought of as a tribute to his late father, is a memory of Roethke’sRoethke and gives details about what his relationship with his father was like. Roethke spent most of his free time working with his father in their greenhouse and trying to live up to his fathers’father's high expectations. This caused lots of tension and it eventually led to a fallout in their relationship. Though Roethke admired and loved his father, he found it difficult to mend the relationship before his fathersfather's death. This could explain the conflicting choice of words that Roethke uses throughout his poem. Like when the speaker describes how he “hung on like death” (Roethke 3) then dismisses the negative feeling by detailing how they “romped” (Roethke 5) around the kitchen. Roethke uses imagery and symbolism in his poem “My Papa’s Waltz” to describe his conflicted feelings towards his father and relates it to learning the waltz.