Analysis of Dirty Realism

Joe Strickland 1986 (Hobbysville, SC)



He wakes up to the sound of a roach skittering on the floor
The sun peeks through the window, baking dust on the worn hardwood

His head is pounding with the remnants of last night's binge
The empty bottles, needles, and pills littered about the room

The fridge is near empty, just a few scraps of moldy bread and cheese
As he rolls a cigarette, the realization hits him hard - He's alone, again

In this world, love is scarce and money even more so
Every day is a struggle just to get by, survive, and find the next fix

His body is weary, His mind exhausted, his soul desolate
But still, he trudges on, trying to find meaning in this dirty realism. 


Scheme XX XX XX XX XX
Poetic Form Couplet 
Metre 1111011011101 01110101011011 1111010101111 010101001100101 0111101011110101 1110010101011110101 0111110101011 1001101011110101011 1101101101011100 1111011011100110100
Closest metre Iambic octameter
Characters 653
Words 128
Sentences 2
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
Lines Amount 10
Letters per line (avg) 51
Words per line (avg) 12
Letters per stanza (avg) 102
Words per stanza (avg) 25
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Written on May 16, 2023

Submitted by JoeStrickland on May 16, 2023

39 sec read
18

Joe Strickland

I'm just a regular, blue collar, working stiff who took an interest in writing poetry many years ago but until recently I haven't had a desire to share any with anyone or pursue publication. I'm an unpublished fork lift operator by night, and a day drinker by choice. I can be followed on Twitter @JoeStricklandSC more…

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