Analysis of mission
early morn on an overcast day
it oregoned at Mission Mill.
a slight mist that became a drizzle,
became a heavy sprinkle where observers would
seek shelter under mature trees
became drops forming a stream
stream becoming a silver water race downhill
under walkways and through gears
to western willamette and north to ocean.
oregon. the morning oregoned and I
fled the trees and the now-wet benches,
like ducks, i sought shelter on the banks
someplace apart from others but with a view
an antique porch - one that held personages, parsonages
school children who then farmed the valley
built wool mills and laid out paper;
they didn’t wait the water out, they used it
and kept it flowing – west, north, out
i sat next to may irises on the bank
and watched oregon flow pass, under 13th street
to flow pass university, hospital, city hall, library
in and out of ponds; it wouldn’t stay contained
as it wove woolen blankets and pressed paper
as it cooled children and housed ducks, herons,
observers. I could not stay ashore, I wanted
bare feet to follow it’s rills, slide under commute traffic,
saddle spillways and watching bridges pass overhead
it had already left the forests, left the sky
it was sliding all over the ground, Oregon finding
rivulets and land folds, where it could pool.
i can’t let them bottle it up, pour it into plasticized forms
and ship it away; Oregon should never be contained.
Scheme | XA XX XX AX XB XX XX CD XX XX CE DX XX XB XX XE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10111101 111101 011101010 010101010101 11010011 0111001 101001010111 101011 11001001110 100010101 101001110 111110101 1011101101 101111111000 110111010 11101110 1110101111 01110111 11111100101 011001110111 11101001010110 0011111101 11110100110 1111001110 010111101110 11110111100110 101010101101 110101010101 11101100110010 10111111 11111011110111 01101100110101 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,381 |
Words | 245 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 8 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 70 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 15 |
About this poem
Published in Write The Town 2016. Mid-Valley Poets Society.2016. Written on site at Mission Mill, Salem, Oregon about the waters of Oregon.
Font size:
Written on May 14, 2016
Submitted by Ariel on September 19, 2021
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:13 min read
- 5 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"mission" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/109941/mission>.
Discuss this Ariel poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In