Analysis of THE LAST LEAF

Francis Boakye 1988 (Bodwesango in Ashanti Region)



THE LAST LEAF

In my dream was a tree
Alone and almost dead
For its leaves were down
Except one stubborn leaf of hope
That hanged on a branch

The dry land gave no hope of water
So I guess the roots were thirsty
Rivers, streams, ponds and even springs
Had all abandoned the domicile
I searched for an oasis
But to no avail
At the mercy of a gale,
The tree was taking its last breath

As I watched the final stages of this tree,
Hoping it would finally fall,
A miracle, a deus ex machina
Flashed before me
And the wonder that followed awed all

In white apparels were medicos
The hope givers
They stitched and bandaged this loner
Fed it with solvent
And whispered silently into its ears,
“Never say die”


Scheme X AXBXX CADEXEEX AEBAE DXCXXX
Poetic Form Tetractys  (28%)
Metre 011 011101 01011 11101 01110111 11101 011111110 11101010 10110101 1101001 1111010 11101 1010101 01110111 11101010111 10111001 01000111 1011 001011011 01101 0110 11010110 11110 0101000111 1011
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 706
Words 142
Sentences 1
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 1, 5, 8, 5, 6
Lines Amount 25
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 111
Words per stanza (avg) 27

About this poem

This poem is about hope in hopeless situation.

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Submitted by Nhyira7 on April 15, 2023

42 sec read
1

Francis Boakye

I am a 33 year old man from Ghana. I teach English Language and Literature-in-English. I love to sing, read and write poems. I am single. more…

All Francis Boakye poems | Francis Boakye Books

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