Analysis of Gray
Salem thinks I exist in purple -
the multitude shades of it,
feminine soft lilac
bold, saucy plum
for I drape myself in them -
but i don’t …
I exist in the gray.
The middle ground, neither one or the other;
proud of not being pure but of being true.
Knowing in its different shades
I’m not lost in the dark,
not lost in unhealthy extremes.
Unlike newspaper, life is not black or white;
it is the two coexisting.
Note the early photographs -
how our past, our ancestors are exposed
in the mingle of light & dark,
their features, their angles, their shadows;
character defined within the grays.
There is despair there in the black,
stark severity in the white
But in the gray is their dreams, their fears -
There is hope there.
So don’t label me Republican
Democrat
Business
Tree hugger
Religious fanatic,
Atheist
Pro-Life
Pro-choice.
Don’t paint me with a broad brush,
don’t paint me with color -
for it will not capture the truth.
To see me, take my photograph
distill it down to the abstract , to the concrete;
I will be exposed where they merge.
No man on the street.
No soundbyte of the day.
My gray silhouette is my own.
Scheme | XABXXA C DXXEXFXXXEXXBFXX XXXDXXXXXDXXGXGCX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (28%) Etheree (28%) |
Metre | 101101010 010111 10011 1101 111101 111 101001 01011011010 11110111101 10011001 111001 11001001 0110111111 1101010 101010 11011010101 0010111 11011011 100010101 11011001 10100001 100111111 1111 111010100 10 10 110 010010 100 11 11 1111011 111110 11111001 1111110 011110011001 11101111 11101 11101 1101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,105 |
Words | 208 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 1, 16, 17 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 218 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
About this poem
Published in Gold Man Review 2012
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Written on April 01, 2011
Submitted by Ariel on September 19, 2021
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 1:02 min read
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"Gray" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 15 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/109925/gray>.
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