Analysis of Dusty Doors

Carl Sandburg 1878 (Galesburg) – 1967 (Flat Rock)



Child of the Aztec gods,
how long must we listen here,
how long before we go?

The dust is deep on the lintels.
The dust is dark on the doors.
If the dreams shake our bones,
what can we say or do?

Since early morning we waited.
Since early, early morning, child.
There must be dreams on the way now.
There must be a song for our bones.

The dust gets deeper and darker.
Do the doors and lintels shudder?
How long must we listen here?
How long before we go?


Scheme aBC axdx xxxd eeBC
Poetic Form
Metre 11011 1111101 110111 0111101 0111101 1011101 111111 11010110 11010101 11111011 111011101 01110010 1010110 1111101 110111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 459
Words 93
Sentences 13
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 3, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 15
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 87
Words per stanza (avg) 23
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

27 sec read
382

Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg was an American writer and editor best known for poetry. more…

All Carl Sandburg poems | Carl Sandburg Books

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