Analysis of Contemplation
Samuel B. Duff 1981 (Michigan)
I ponder a leaf
Still damp with dew
Translucent
Mottled and veined
I pinch the stem
Roll it in my fingers
It has jagged edges
It smells green
And brown
And damp
I can see my fingers
Behind it
through it
Once
You were part of a tree
One with it
You grew
Amongst siblings and cousins
On branches and vines
Like a thousand fingers
On a giant hand
You waved at air and birds
Before you fell
Now
You
Who had been a green
and yellow bud
Raised on the song of a million birds
And hundreds of warm dawns
Lay like a carpet with your peers
About your tombstone and cradle
Your giant parents are skeletons
And you
Become the soil
Scheme | ABCBDEFGHIEJJKLJBMNEOPQRBGSPTUVMBW |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11001 1111 010 1001 1101 110110 11110 111 01 01 111110 011 11 1 101101 111 11 0110010 11001 101010 10101 111101 0111 1 1 11101 0101 110110101 010111 11010111 0111010 110101100 01 0101 |
Closest metre | Iambic dimeter |
Characters | 594 |
Words | 123 |
Sentences | 1 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 34 |
Lines Amount | 34 |
Letters per line (avg) | 15 |
Words per line (avg) | 4 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 496 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 123 |
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Contemplation" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/101490/contemplation>.
Discuss this Samuel B. Duff 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