Analysis of The Loss
Heinous crime it was
My grandfather said; though
The loss was marginal for the owner.
A sunny morning. My father who
Rides roughshod to his office and
In the office over his subordinates.
Noticed the theft and turned red:
Mouthed curses which, were he a saint,
Would have burnt wherever
The thief was to ashes.
It was the brass nameplate
My father brought from Aligarh.
Now, fifty summers later another loss.
Neither my father who in his old age
Ruminates over his youthful days
Like a priest who savours the memory
Of the sumptuous food offered at the feast
Nor anyone else in the house grieves.
My grandfather (May his soul rest in peace)
What he would have said about the present loss
I cannot think. The loss is not tangible
But substantial. Not one object but many.
Delicate but strong enough to sustain
The name of the entire family. Sad it was
The thief was never identified. Not
Because he eluded but because
The investigators cared not to probe.
Was it a theft? No. Negligence? Maybe.
Wilful indifference, say the experienced elders.
For causes of loss let the wise quarrel
But the loss half-heartedly established
All went busy with their chores as if
The loss was nothing more than
A failure of the monsoon for the politician.
To me, nonetheless, it is a loss
Not easily retrievable as
Substitutes and replacements hard to find.
[For the loss is that of morals and values]
Scheme | AXBXXXXXBXXBCXXDXXX CEDXAXXXDXEXXXXCXXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 10111 11011 0111001010 010101101 11111100 0010101010 1001011 11010101 111010 011110 11011 110111 11010100101 1011010111 1101101 101110100 1010110101 11010011 110111101 11111010101 11010111100 10101110110 1001101101 0110010100111 011100101 011010101 001001111 1101110010 1010010010010 1101110110 1011100010 111011111 0111011 010100110010 11011101 110011 100010111 10111110010 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,367 |
Words | 248 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 19, 19 |
Lines Amount | 38 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 554 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 122 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:14 min read
- 115 Views
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"The Loss" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/42620/the--loss>.
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