Analysis of Then, When You Were Sweet Sixteen

Alan S Jeeves 1951 (Lancashire)



I recall a day, a sky-blue day,
Still in my head, yet far away.
When first you led my mind astray
And left me vanquished, come what may,
The day I saw you cool, serene;
When you were simply sweet sixteen.

For, as swinging years were new
And careless days, about us, grew
And you walked, sudden, into view
Along the leafy avenue.
The day I saw you cool, serene;
When you were simply sweet sixteen.

Your hair shone brightly in the light,
As noonday sun had reached its height;
As you came dancing into sight
And I would gaze, as well I might,
The day I saw you cool, serene;
When you were simply sweet sixteen.

I knew that from that moment, there,
A certain stirring charged the air
And by that lime tree yonder, where,
You passed me by without a care.
The day I saw you cool, serene;
When you were simply sweet sixteen.

And thoughts came flooding, unforeseen,
And such a day had never been.
Yet still, the thrill is evergreen
When you were, then, the Maytime Queen.
The day I saw you cool, serene;
When you were simply sweet sixteen.


Scheme aaaaBB ccccBB ddddBB eeeeBB bxbbBB
Poetic Form Etheree  (33%)
Tetractys  (20%)
Metre 11010111 10111101 11111101 01110111 01111101 11010101 1110101 01010111 01110011 0101010 01111101 11010101 11110001 1111111 11110011 01111111 01111101 11010101 11111101 01010101 01111101 11110101 01111101 11010101 0111001 01011101 1101110 1101011 01111101 11010101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,003
Words 195
Sentences 10
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 26
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 159
Words per stanza (avg) 39

About this poem

These five, strictly rhyming, sestets with refrain were inspired by an 1898 (pub.) Vaudeville song written by American James Thornton. The author wrote this piece in 2021.

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Submitted by AlanSJeeves on July 20, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

58 sec read
3

Alan S Jeeves

Alan S Jeeves is a Lancashire (England) born, Yorkshire based classical poet. more…

All Alan S Jeeves poems | Alan S Jeeves Books

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