Analysis of Obey Mama
Boy, I know Mama told you.
A hard head makes a soft behind
But you grown,
With your devilish mind.
You gon’ get what’s coming to you after while.
Running with them hardheaded boys.
Oh, you smile?
Staying out late drinking Mad Dog 20/20 in a jar.
Smoking that dope and stealing cars.
You having fun now, but soon
You’ll be busting rocks by the light of the moon.
Out shooting craps and playing spades.
Boy, are you trying to shorten your days?
I know you know what Mama said.
But you got devilment in your head.
I’m gon’ leave you alone.
Old Hard Head. Mr. Too Grown.
You just won’t listen to nothing Mama say,
You just got to do things your own way.
Mama’s been crying. Can’t you see?
How this is affecting her and me?
There was another shooting in town last night.
Some hit and runs, and a big gunfight.
I heard you were in that part of town.
What were you doing when it all went down?
Your cousin Joe, they found him dead
Now let that there run through your head.
No, I’m not coming to pay your bail.
If you’d obeyed Mama, you wouldn’t be in jail.
Take this time to contemplate.
And change your ways before it’s too late.
Scheme | XA BA CX C XX DD XX EE B B FFGG HH II EE JJ KK |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111011 01110101 111 11101 11101011101 1011101 111 10111011001 10110101 1101111 11101101101 11010101 1111011011 11111101 1111011 111101 1111011 11110110101 111111111 10110111 111010001 11010100111 11010011 111001111 1011011111 11011111 11111111 111101111 11011011101 111110 011101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,171 |
Words | 260 |
Sentences | 29 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 4, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 31 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 53 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 14 |
About this poem
This poem deals with the problem of youth rebellion and the ever-increasing level of youth detention.
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Written on May 09, 2022
Submitted by JaelWright on May 11, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:18 min read
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"Obey Mama" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/127094/obey-mama>.
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