Analysis of Dotted Line
A soul robbery
Mind placed along with others in their novelty
Branded by a number cuz I am now the government’s property
Praying upon the extreme blood rushing to stop
As I sign down where X marks the spot
Intellectually still in slavery, trying to finish eating the knowledge
off my master's plate
As they let money chain me and try to whip me into shape
Their going to take my pride as I hand over my freedom
10 years down the road I won't care enough to need 'em
As I sign on the dotted line, my power becomes limited
With a pen which it's ink that is considered venomous
Spills on the paper which is filled with capers that I must read with
my very eyes
The fine print which is disguised and minimized
Packed bags, and closely shaved cuts
It's time to kiss my family goodbye and to finally grow some guts
I hope there is honesty in every word of my commander and chief's speech
That a change is going to come and Iraq is out of reach
Fresh face 18 and no longer a minor
Makes me regret that I didn't move on to higher learning with my peers with a pencil and a binder
Looking on the brighter side, at least I'm not at home just laying
around on the couch
They say the sky's the limit but I can't see past the ceilings in my house
Just like the slave that I am going to be I plan to run
Run
Out run the government and it's sons
Also try to out run the bullets from the government’s guns
Run past the fields, then the swamps which is covered with fog
Then dive in the ancestral water to escape the government’s dogs
Cross borders, head north, look for the American dream which is for the paper
Look for a safe place, might even meet up with a Quaker
I can hear the government yelling "You can run but you can't hide though"
I previewing my future as if it was a slideshow
I will then need to wait for a proclamation
Bypass all the problems that my people has encountered in the past generations
Make my own way, in the same lane as Fredrick Douglas who looked down on rules that he felt was silly
I'm going to also need the remainder of my days to be a holiday like the lady they called Billie
I will also want to pay my dues, and not be treated like the other
Just my idol Hughes, I too am the darker brother
Where I am designated
I'm segregated in my own mind
Underestimating myself, self on self crimes
Don't go there, don't eat there, don’t drink there,
But for knowledge I'm starving, and thirsty
Some of these rules may have been passed, but mentally I am still given no mercy
They say higher learning is supposed to be the equalizer, but I am
still denied to drink from that fountain
So to tell a certain background, I feel I was sent by James Baldwin to go tell it on the mountain
Though I'm far from homosexual, I just want people to hear my every word
That's why I'm going to make it part of my mission to release Ms. Maya Angelou's caged bird
So us underdogs can sing, to put everyone in their right mind
Will I be giving up my future if I sign on that dotted line
When I leave for the air force
When I board upon the airport
When I sign with this lighted pen
To enter a world I wasn't invited in
But my destiny is to become a writer and change the world
Scheme | AAABCDEFGHIJKLMNNOOPPQRSTTUUVWPPXOTUAAPPYZ1 2 AA3 TT4 4 Z5 6 7 8 9 0 |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01100 110111001100 10101011110100100 100100111011 111111101 01000101001011010010 11101 111101101111011 110111111110110 110111101111 1111010111001100 10111111010100 1101011111011111 1101 0111101010 1101011 11111100101100111 11111000100111010011 101110110011111 110110010 11011110111101011110100010 1010101111111110 01101 110101011111010011 110111110111111 1 110100011 101111010101001 1101101111011 11000101010101001 1101111001001111010 11011110111010 11101001011111111 110110111101 11111110010 1101011101010001010 111100111101011111111110 110110100101111101010101110 111011111011101010 1110111101010 111100 11000111 010011111 111111111 1110110010 11111111110011110110 111010101110100111 101111110 111010111111111011111010 1111010111101111001 1111011111110101110111 11101111100111 11110111011111101 1111011 1110101 11111101 110011100100 1110011010100101 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 3,129 |
Words | 626 |
Sentences | 2 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 58 |
Lines Amount | 58 |
Letters per line (avg) | 43 |
Words per line (avg) | 11 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 2,494 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 624 |
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Submitted on February 24, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 3:14 min read
- 4 Views
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"Dotted Line" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/69818/dotted-line>.
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