Analysis of Lonesome Road



Down a long and lonesome road
My mind will always go.
As time slips forth relentlessly
There too my spirit flows.

From when I was a child
Until now when I grow old
I have been more oft, a watcher
Of the braver and the bold.

And though I was a warrior once
Upon a fearsome trail,
I aimed my thoughts like bullets
O’er the highlands and the vale.

When ‘neath the deadly missiles
I crouched in mortal fear,
Although my body trembled,
My thoughts ran cool and clear.

We each walk many paths in life,
The unsettled soul still more.
My path since birth has been the same
In peace, the same as war.

Passage led to more new roads
And more roads ‘cross the berm.
Each way, a gem of wisdom taught
Another lesson learned.

As my body weakens now,
So long upon the road,
My thoughts and spirit coalesce
In light upon my soul.

When at last my journey ends
May it be on the western shore.
I’ll cast my spirit o’er the sea
And sail on evermore.


Scheme AXBX XCXC XDXD XEXE XFXF XXXX XAXX XFBF
Poetic Form Quatrain  (63%)
Metre 1010101 11111 11110100 111101 111101 0111111 11111010 1010001 011101001 010101 1111110 1010001 1101010 110101 111010 111101 11110101 0010111 11111101 010111 1011111 011101 11011101 010101 1110101 110101 1101001 010111 1111101 11110101 11110101 01110
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 952
Words 205
Sentences 12
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 90
Words per stanza (avg) 23

About this poem

Reflections on a life lived

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Written on September 19, 2017

Submitted by DJGillert on April 11, 2022

Modified on April 03, 2023

1:01 min read
136

Douglas Gillert

Douglas Gillert is a retired journalist and editor. He writes poetry as part of his spiritual path. more…

All Douglas Gillert poems | Douglas Gillert Books

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