Analysis of The Bird is Still Singing

Janice Hodges 1956 (Illinois)



Crawling in bed, I hear a bird singing.
Unusual, I think, a bird singing so lovely,
so clearly, in the dark night sky.
Doesn't it realize that the time for birds
to sing is in the bright light of day?
But this bird continues to sing - not
allowing the darkness to stifle it's song.
Because this bird's song cannot be contained.

And I think of the song inside of me -
the song that I only sing when conditions are right
- when light is shining and those around me are receptive.
The song, that when darkness surrounds me, I keep inside of me
- afraid to allow my song to cut through the blackness of the night.
And I resolve to sing like this bird, to be unusual in the darkness.
I wake in the morning, the bird is still singing.


Scheme ABXXXXXX BCXBCXA
Poetic Form Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 1001110110 010110110110 11000111 1011010111 111001111 111010111 01001011011 0111110101 0111010111 0111101101011 11110010111010 011110011110111 0110111111010101 010111111110100010 110010011110
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 714
Words 143
Sentences 9
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 7
Lines Amount 15
Letters per line (avg) 37
Words per line (avg) 10
Letters per stanza (avg) 281
Words per stanza (avg) 72

About this poem

Reminds me to keep singing, no matter my circumstances. Break the darkness with joy!

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Submitted on June 23, 2021

Modified on April 27, 2023

43 sec read
4

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