Analysis of Sestina Upon Return From Disney World, June 2022



“A vacation with children,” said her friend
“Is not for pleasure -- it is a trip.”
And the mother agreed, and sent a text
To her husband and his sister and his mom
To try to think, to consider, maybe -- a plan
And to make sure to include all of the kids.

And then along a Main Street walk, the kids
Having fun with cousins, not missing a friend,
And rushing to wherever is next, according to plan -
When the little one hits the ground in a trip!
And luckily someone saved ice (thanks, Mom) -
But no time to comfort or thank or even send a text --

And by the time the family hears official text
Read out loud, one at a time, by all three kids -
And the grandma doesn’t look at her grandsons’ mom--
[and again i have decided that I really really need a friend]
It is objectively quite an interminable trip
But it’s not my vacation, so maybe that’s the plan?

And what would I know what to make of a failed plan?
Although, I did read every email and every text
In preparation for this unexpected trip
That is undertaken for the benefit of others (not just kids).
And, I took advice from each and every friend -
Even from my therapist, who is herself a mom.

To be fair, Husband must balance between his wife and mom,
Which is a tight rope to walk, with no plan.
However, he seems to need no friend,
And declares that he hates to hear of texts,
Even when he’s checking in on who has which kids
(which is the minimum a parent must manage on any trip).

“Well, that was certainly a memorable trip,”
Everyone said (sarcastically?) to this mom -  
And she taught the meaning of “infamy” to her kids -
And she vowed to never let others plan
Her family’s vacation, no matter the fine context!
Because the only people to trust for that are already friends.

The mom texts her friends:
She needs to recover from the trip,
And then must plan, for the kids.


Scheme ABCDEF FAEBDC CFDABE ECBFAD DEAXFB BDFECG GBF
Poetic Form
Metre 0010110101 111101101 0010010101 10100110011 111110101001 01111011101 0101011101 10111011001 01010101101011 10101101001 010011111 11111011110101 0101010010101 11111011111 0010111011 0011110111010101 11010011010001 1111010110101 011111111011 11111000101001 0010110101 1110010100110111 011011101001 1011100110101 11110110011101 1101111111 10111111 0011111111 101110011111 1101000101101101 111100010001 1010100111 0110101100101 0111101101 010101100110 0101010111110101 01101 111010101 0111101
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,889
Words 389
Sentences 14
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 3
Lines Amount 39
Letters per line (avg) 36
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 201
Words per stanza (avg) 51

About this poem

The poem, written in the heat of a Southern summer, was inspired by wordplay and dizziness caused by too many amusement park rides on a diet of french fries and mouse-shaped ice creams and being led around by family with different values from your own in the name of mandatory fun.

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Written on June 20, 2022

Submitted by steinberg.davida on June 20, 2022

Modified on April 24, 2023

1:56 min read
54

D. L. Clark

D.L. Clark is an incredibly lucky suburban mother of 3 who loves puns and wordplay and was an excellent ELA student and sometimes likes to re-live those halcyon days of processing emotions through writing poetry. more…

All D. L. Clark poems | D. L. Clark Books

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    "Sestina Upon Return From Disney World, June 2022" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/131616/sestina-upon-return-from-disney-world%2C-june-2022>.

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