Analysis of Poem no.4
Charlotte Cohen 1987 (London)
What's the point of it all,
She despaired.
What's the meaning of life?
She thought she had it figured you see,
So beyond her years and wise.
Compassion, gratitude, mindfulness,
Self-care down to a tee.
Don't sweat the small stuff,
she read,
Sleep well - it's all about me.
He poured his soul into children.
Shaped them, made them new.
Wiped their tears when they fell,
Shielded them from the truth.
Birthday parties,
Bedtime stories,
Dropping off then collecting.
Fragments of time she grasps at
To make meaning of the ending.
We left behind are silent.
Bereft of all you stood for.
This world seems much more empty;
What was it all for?
To go on in life, to make it count,
Whilst surrounded by memories of you.
Every item a relic,
Of what you liked to do.
Your thousand-volume library,
(Three-thousand to be exact.)
Sorted carefully by author,
Again by genre;
Reverently stacked.
And your beloved speakers
Meticulously placed
Exactly on the floor,
For their conductor to hear best,
His booming orchestra.
But our pianist's seat sits empty.
The class awaits its tutor.
Mum comes home to dinner for one
The futility overbearing.
I cry myself to sleep at night,
Or lie awake and meditate
On how temporary life truly is,
And unknown.
And desolate.
Scheme | XXXAX AAXXA BCXX DDEXE XFAF XCXC AGHIG XXFXI AHBE XXXXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101111 101 101011 111111011 1010101 010101 111101 11011 11 1111011 11110110 11111 111111 101101 110 110 1011010 1011111 11101010 1101110 0111111 1111110 11111 111011111 1010110011 10010010 111111 1101010 1101101 10100110 01110 10001 010110 010001 010101 11010111 110100 1100101110 0101110 11111011 001001010 1111111 1101010 111001101 001 0100 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,201 |
Words | 217 |
Sentences | 23 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 4, 5, 4, 4, 5, 5, 4, 5 |
Lines Amount | 46 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 97 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 22 |
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"Poem no.4" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 17 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/99199/poem-no.4>.
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