Analysis of Why I flinch
Niki Marie betsill 1987 (Forsyth)
You ask me why it is, that I flinch
With every sudden movement
That I don't see coming
Like I expect to be hit ?
It's a leftover reaction.
Like a residual tic.
A predetermined mechanism
Physically attempting to defend
My physical self.
For at the hands of another
My body has been beaten, been broken, and battered.
My heart has been shattered,
My spirit through and through
has had it
Now I have to,
Sit here and explain to you
Why I sit with my back to the wall
Of every room,
And why I'm afraid of my own shadow.
And how if the volume is loud enough, even at laughter I cower.
Because my mind doesnt decipher between sad, happy, or mad laughter.
The severity of ptsd
That envelopes me
Is like a unseen deformity
Of my brain
When I'm triggered my mind gets stuck In the moment of my trauma
And I'm reliving them again
So when I hide my face
And tuck in my chin
Shudder when your fingertips
Brush against my skin?
It comes from someplace deep within.
Someplace between the past And
how long until it happens again?
I know you say,
How could I think this of you?
But he said he would never too!
And each and every time
His fist Or open hand
Makes contact with my bare skin
I felt all at once
The shock and disbelief,
Immediate denial,
That this broken girl was me.
It seems I had to learn this lesson repeatedly.
So, you ask me why I'm a jumpy ball of Nervous energy,
And why I'm always flinching ?
Because my ptsd, has crippled me.
This is what is left of me.
Existing in the fear that is my reality.
There is no more room
for Empty I love yous.
Only final goodbyes
Permanent and absolute.
As is the pain,
I try so hard in vain
To disguise,
but the truth is I cannot hide,
nor wish to deny
The truth, that is such a sad truth,
But a truth nonetheless that is mine.
And I don't have in me
even one single inch
of doubtful benefit.
So the reality is,
this is the answer to your question
the reason why I flinch.
Scheme | Text too long |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111111111 11001010 111110 1101111 1010010 1001001 0010100 1000010101 11001 11011010 1101110110010 111110 110101 111 1111 1100111 111111101 11001 011011111 011010110110110110 01111010011101110 0010011 1101 110010100 111 1110111100101110 01010101 111111 01011 101110 10111 1111101 101010 110111001 1111 1111111 11111101 0101001 111101 111111 11111 01001 0100010 1110111 1111111100100 1111110101110100 011110 01111101 1111111 01000111110 11111 110111 10101 100010 1101 111101 101 10111101 11101 01111011 10101111 011101 101101 110100 10101 110101110 010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,910 |
Words | 409 |
Sentences | 24 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 67 |
Lines Amount | 67 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,482 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 376 |
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Why I flinch" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 15 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/182723/why-i-flinch>.
Discuss this Niki Marie betsill 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