Analysis of The dingy old man
A dingy old man, down on his luck, living in the streets
No money for food, hasn't showered in weeks
He stands on the corner, sign in hand, head down in shame
Every car that approaches, jumps to the next lane
Drivers avoid eye contact, they just look away
The ones who speak, have only vile words to say
There's no need to know his story or how he got here
They just don't care, they don't want him near
The light turns green and he's left standing there
Exhaust in his lungs, sweat on his face, pollution and dirt in his hair
He's seen as a disgrace for which no one seems to care
Why doesn't he just get a job, hard to do when you don't live anywhere
Put down the bottle, find something to eat
Get off the drugs and off of the streets
Stop begging from me, I'm more important don't you see
Everyday he struggles with his own mind
Every night in the gutter, hope gets harder to find
His body needs rest, but his mind thinks it unwise
The nightmares start as soon as he closes his eyes
He wakes up in bed, next to his wife
Smoke fills the room and she's lost her life
The baby is screaming, trapped in her room
He looks around and knows there's no escape, they're both doomed
The roof starts collapsing, now the baby is silent
The fire burns intensely, hot and violent
Water comes rushing in, trying to douse the fire
But it's too late, a wife and daughter lost to one faulty wire
Paramedics checking his vitals but he doesn't care
He's searching for his family, but can't find them anywhere
He opens his eyes and reality comes crashing in
He's going to live another day without his family again
Memories fill his mind and tears well in his eyes
Thoughts of that night haunt him, as does the sound of his baby's cries
He looks down at his feet and slips on his shoes
They're just like him inside, falling apart too
He doesn't want to do it because he knows
People will just look at him in disgust, he's just the dingy old man, know matter where he goes....
Scheme | AXXX BBXX CCCC XAX DDEE FFXXGGHHCC XXEE XXII |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01011111110001 11011101001 1110101011101 1001101011011 10011111101 01111101111 1111111011111 111111111 0111011101 01011111101001011 1110011111111 11011101111111110 1101011011 110101101 1101111010111 1011101111 10010010111011 110111111101 01111111011 111011111 110101101 0101101001 1101011101111 0110101010110 010101010100 1011001011010 1111010101111010 010101111101 11011100111110 110110101100 11011010101110001 100111011011 111111110111101 11111101111 11110110011 11011110111 10111110011101011110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,963 |
Words | 384 |
Sentences | 1 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 3, 4, 10, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 37 |
Letters per line (avg) | 41 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 191 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 47 |
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Written on April 02, 2021
Submitted by Daleisnmyhardt3 on June 29, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:01 min read
- 1 View
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"The dingy old man" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/130849/the-dingy-old-man>.
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