Analysis of A Happily Sad Toy
Mahesh Wadhwani 1971
I’m like the tiny shiny wind-up toy
Standing alone on an end shelf, no joy
People pass by gleaming at my cheerful face
Children stop, wind me up, see me jump, with grace
A smile crosses their faces, they clap with glee
All have a good laugh, release their distress and flee
Not one to buy me, as I don’t fulfill their needs
Good to know that I ain't attached to any one indeed
Wouldn’t want to be taken home, put on another shelf to greet
I stay here, smiling, ready to please the next one on the street
That was my life and then you came along
You too were lost, you stopped, smiled, I finally felt I belong
You too breathed a deep sigh of relief inside
You kept coming back, stirred me, gave me life
You touched me so deep that I froze in time
You lifted me up, wound me tight this last time
So tight, that I can't unwind myself this lifetime
Your play's over, life beckoned you, till next time
I'm on the same back shelf where you left me
Just another broken toy or what's left to be
Scheme | AABBCCXXDD EEXXFFFFCC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1101010111 1001111111 10111011101 10111111111 01101101111 110110110101 111111110111 11111101110101 111110111010111 111101011011101 1111011101 110111111001101 11101110101 1110111111 1111111101 11011111111 1111101111 11101101111 1101111111 101010111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 997 |
Words | 200 |
Sentences | 1 |
Stanzas | 2 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 20 |
Letters per line (avg) | 38 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 382 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 98 |
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Happily Sad Toy" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/118158/a-happily-sad-toy>.
Discuss this Mahesh Wadhwani 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