Analysis of Hands High
Just when you think we're getting past it...
We're going right back at it
Like a nightmare that you thought was gone
It reappears like it was magic
Is this travesty an act of a miscarriage of justice
Or just a knee-jerk reaction to distrust
A system never meant to protect us?
It's us against them...
But is it "us" or is it "them"?!
'Cause sometimes I'm Trayvon...
Sometimes I'm Mike...
Sometimes I'm Zimmerman...
Sometimes I'm Wilson...
At times I'm Malvo
Ducked low in a blue Chevy Caprice
Manipulated by my own kind
To go a pick up a piece
Our peace of mind is assailed
In a hail of bullets
Another young one in ground
Never knowing life to the fullest
And foolspeak that follows
In the aftermath of a disaster -
How exactly should a native son
Get over the fact
That he's being treated
Like a b*st*rd?
They tell me that my views
Are from another time and place
Yet I'm the same color...
In the same country...
And it's still all about race
And unless the Lord's grace intervenes
We'll never make it to the finish
Of a long-running history
That never seems to diminish
Remember: the anger of men
Will never produce godly righteousness
But the righteousness of Christ
Is the only reason I fight for this -
Liberty and justice
From a corruptness
That has plagued us
In his absence;
From rulers that wield the sword in vain
To the masses that give way to the malice
He drank from wrath's chalice
And took on the sins of Adam
So those who bear the mark of Cain
Can one day enter the heavenly palace
A King's dream finally realized
"One Nation Under God" reimagined
Guns down and hands high
As the final enemy is moving backwards
Scheme | AABXCDC EEBXFF GHXH XXXDXI FXXA XJIKJ XLKL XCXMCCCXNC MXNC XAGX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111111011 1101111 10111111 10111110 111001110010110 11011010101 0101011011 11011 11111111 10111 0111 011100 01110 1111 110011001 01001111 1101101 10111101 001110 0101101 101011010 01110 001010010 101010101 11001 111010 10111 111111 11010101 110110 00110 0111011 00101101 110111010 10110100 11011010 01001011 1100110100 1010011 1010101111 100010 101 1111 0110 110110101 10101111010 111110 01101110 11110111 11110010010 01110010 1101011 11011 101010011010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,575 |
Words | 302 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 6, 4, 6, 4, 5, 4, 10, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 54 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 127 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
Font size:
Submitted on January 16, 2016
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:35 min read
- 2 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Hands High" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/72943/hands-high>.
Discuss this Shon White poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In