Analysis of BERLIN WALL (1961-1989)
Over and under and through the Wall they came,
parched with a thirst they couldn't quench.
Tunneling, flying, leaping, crawling, hidden
in car seats and carts, determined to wrench
themselves free from tyranny's stench.
Oppressed, tortured, imprisoned, shot—
still the thirsty would not could not be denied.
The spring of freedom beckoned, so close, so far;
yards, feet, nay inches away they died—
and friends and loved ones cried.
Some made it! a baby hidden in a bag in a cart;
desperate men who leapt on a moving train;
a hollow car seat, tunnels, boats,
a makeshift glider, balloon and plane;
putting an end to the thirst and pain.
And then one day, one wonderful day,
they hammered and shattered and tore down the Wall!
Thirsting, singing, shouting, laughing, hugging,
chunk by chunk they watched it fall—
and the terrible thirst was quenched for all.
Scheme | XAXAA XBXBB XCXCC XDXDD |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10010010111 11011101 10010101010 0110101011 011111 01100101 10101111101 01110101111 111100111 010111 11101010001001 1011110101 01011101 01100101 101110101 011111001 11001001101 110101010 1111111 0010011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 865 |
Words | 162 |
Sentences | 8 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 168 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
About this poem
My wife and I have visited Checkpoint Charlie and the related museum, and we know the desperation of the people who were trying to escape from East Germany.
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"BERLIN WALL (1961-1989)" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/184883/berlin-wall-%281961-1989%29>.
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