Analysis of Waking Up

Charleen Richey 1975 (Albuquerque, NM)



Waking up to the news, I see skewed data
And sorted information
It depletes my inclination
To rise and greet an un-united nation
With elites continuing to divide with “twitterpation”
Where’s the strong standing to fight
Speaking out “This is not right!”
We’re holding strong through the division
To a brotherhood we envision
Will one day conquer political strife
Promising our offsprings a better life
False voting, a pipeline down
Iran developing nukes,
China’s economic Crown.
Might as well have taken the glory from atop our New York Lady,
Everything honorable under her torch, now only shady.
Her light is dimming and our hearts are bleeding
Through high demands we keep retreating
Fear is collecting and binding our silence
As we stare at the tube and review all the violence
It tears a child from innocence and forces them older
While parents fear retribution if they tread a step bolder
But in the dimness, a spark still shines
Through all the doubt and false designs.
A people who will not settle for less,
A core group refusing national regress
They are not choosing sides
Extremism is not their play
They are just hard working citizens
Trying to make it through the day
Mothers and fathers who believe in their souls
The best the can do is submit to the rolls
They are punching the clock everyday
Unsure if our Constitution still protects what they say
The light quietly burns as they feed their child
Trying to protect the babe from a world gone wild
Hush little baby, please do not say a word
“I do not know if it is safe, or you will be taken and dubbed absurd”
Is this what our great nation has been reduced to?
Whispers in the walls and halls; and texts regarding “Who do’s?”
Daily redundancy with moments of clarity
Trying to determine who is the adversary
My next door neighbor may turn me in
After egregious Impeachments who’s to stop them?
Are you my friend?
I fear the worst is coming
Where you will be chasing
And I will be running
But not in a game as when we embraced as a child
But rather a sinister evolution of sociological denial
As Covid enters the scene with a pandemic of depression
Just one more thing to add regression
Who will tag me first?
You or the disease?
At least it is not a racist virus
While you sit in judgement with your bias
Which side am I on you ask in preparation
Lurking behind your eyes lays my desecration
Divided through job loss and immigration
A wall built between two parties
Opening doors to foreign invasion
But still that small light shines
Even though a dimmer candle
Hoping freedom will sit again upon the homeland mantle
We are little but mighty if we believe
American genes do not retrieve
But carry onward and give the small man voice
And fight with peace to keep our choice

Charleen Richey
2021


Scheme XAAAABBAACCDXDEEFFGGHHIIJJXKXKLLKKMMNNXXEEXXXFFFMOAAXPQQAAAPAIOORRSS EX
Poetic Form Tetractys  (21%)
Metre 10110111110 010010 1011010 11011101010 101010010111 1011011 1011111 010110010 10101010 1111001001 1001010101 110011 0101001 10101 111110010101101110 101000100111010 011100101110 110111010 110100101010 1111010110100 11011100010110 11010101110110 10010111 11010101 0101111011 01101010010 111101 1001111 111110100 10111101 10010101011 01011101101 111001101 01110010101111 01100111111 101010110111 11010111101 111111111111100101 1111011011011 10001010101011 1001001101100 101010110100 111101110 100100101111 1111 1101110 111110 011110 1100111101101 1100100010100100010 111001100101010 111111010 11111 11001 1111101010 1110101110 11111110010 100111110010 0101110010 01101110 1001110010 111111 10101010 10101101010110 11101101101 010011101 11010010111 011111101 0110 1
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 2,752
Words 500
Sentences 11
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 68, 2
Lines Amount 70
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 1,115
Words per stanza (avg) 248
Font size:
 

Submitted on February 10, 2021

Modified on March 14, 2023

2:30 min read
24

Discuss this Charleen Richey poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Waking Up" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 17 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/61769/waking-up>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    May 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    14
    days
    15
    hours
    43
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote a famed poem about the Crimean War?
    A Alfred E. Neuman
    B Alfred Douglas
    C Oscar Wilde
    D Alfred Lord Tennyson