Analysis of Dead Silhouette



In the opaque realm
Of postmodern existence,
Where the boundaries
Of perception blur
And intermingle,
I stumbled upon
A lifeless silhouette,
Its fading presence
Etched in the fractured fabric
Of my consciousness.
A riddle,
A mirage,
A mere remnant
Of the past,
This specter stood
Poised on the precipice
Of oblivion,
Whispering secrets
That had long been buried
Beneath the weight
Of time.

Like a forgotten character
Trapped within
The sepia-toned pages
Of a discarded novel,
This dead silhouette
Embodied a profound absence,
A presence erased
By the ceaseless march
Of progress.
Its lines,
Once vibrant
And teeming with meaning,
Now stood
As stark reminders
Of an existence
Rendered mute,
Rendered inconsequential
Amidst the cacophony
Of existence.

In the realm of the living,
Where bodies dance
And voices reverberate,
This silhouette remained
Trapped in a silent tomb,
A visual testament
To a narrative
Left unfinished.
Its contours
Dissolved
Into the depths
Of my perception,
A faded hologram
Of a forgotten era,
Haunted
By the echoes
Of a forgotten voice.

As I traced
The contours
Of this spectral figure
With my gaze,
I felt the weight
Of emptiness
Settle upon my soul.
Questions emerged,
Like tendrils
Of smoke
In an ethereal haze.
Who was this silhouette?
What stories
Did it carry
Within its shape?
What beauty,
What pain,
Remained trapped
Within
Its ethereal boundaries?

I contemplated this figure,
Meditating upon
The enigma
Of its existence.
Was it a relic
Of a cherished memory,
A fragment
Of an almost-forgotten love affair?
Was it a testament
To the transient nature
Of human connection,
Forever trapped
In a suspended state
Of departure?
Or was it a mere casualty
Of time's unyielding grip,
A casualty
Of the relentless
March of progress
That deemphasizes
The past
As it thrusts
Humanity
Relentlessly forward?

Yet,
Amidst these reflections,
A strange sense
Of solace emerged.
For within the boundaries
Of this dead silhouette,
I found a mirror
Reflecting my own
Fragile mortality.
Like the fading lines
Etched on its surface,
My own life
Would someday
Dissolve
Into the vast fabric
Of time,
Its meaning
And its joys
Buried beneath
Layers
Of forgotten narratives.

The dead silhouette,
In its silent vigil,
Reminded me
That every existence
Ss but a fleeting moment,
A frail ember
Glowing brightly
Only to be extinguished
In the sweep
Of an unforgiving wind.
In its absence,
I found an acute
Awareness
Of the transience
Of all things,
A poignant reminder
That the dance
Of life
Is only meaningful
In its impermanence.

And so,
As I turned away
From the forlorn silhouette,
I carried within me
A profound gratitude
For the beauty
That exists
In the ephemeral.
For within
Every fading line
And every vanishing
Contour,
There lies a story,
A memory,
A transcendence
That persists
Beyond the boundaries
Of life itself. 


Scheme xabcdefaghdxijkhlxxmN coxdfapxqrisktaudva swxxxixxyxxlxzxxx pyc1 mhx2 ax1 fbvxvx3 ob cezagvixicl3 mcvxvxqajxvx fxx2 bfcxvRh4 5 xgnsxxtx fdvaicvxxxauhaxcw4 da x5 fvxv6 doxsxvva6 bx
Poetic Form Tetractys  (46%)
Etheree  (29%)
Metre 00011 1010010 10100 10101 0010 11001 01001 11010 1001010 11100 010 001 0110 101 1101 110100 10100 10010 111110 0101 11 10010100 101 0100110 1001010 1101 01000110 01001 10101 11 11 110 010110 11 11010 11010 101 100010 0100100 1010 0011010 1101 0100100 10101 100101 0100100 10100 1010 11 01 0101 11010 01010 1001010 10 1010 100101 111 01 11110 111 1101 1100 100111 1001 11 11 0101001 11101 110 1110 0111 110 11 011 01 10100100 1100110 10001 0010 11010 11010 1010100 010 111010101 110100 101010 110010 0101 000101 1010 111011000 110101 01000 10010 111 11 01 111 0100 010010 1 011010 011 11001 1010100 11101 11010 01011 100100 10101 11110 111 11 01 010110 11 110 011 1001 10 1010100 0101 011010 0101 1100010 1101010 0110 1010 1011010 001 1100101 0110 11101 010 10100 111 010010 101 11 110100 011 01 11101 100101 110011 00110 1010 101 000100 101 100101 0100100 1 11010 0100 0010 101 010100 1101
Closest metre Iambic dimeter
Characters 2,986
Words 632
Sentences 23
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 21, 19, 17, 20, 24, 21, 20, 18
Lines Amount 160
Letters per line (avg) 14
Words per line (avg) 3
Letters per stanza (avg) 287
Words per stanza (avg) 58

About this poem

This poem addresses theme of postmodern existence and the blurred boundaries of perception.

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Written on June 30, 2023

Submitted by JoeStrickland on June 30, 2023

3:10 min read
13

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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