Analysis of The Poet Shouldn’t Try



I crave to write—
about a dead fly,
that roamed in my house
for a day and a night.

But when has death been
the inspiration of a poet—
if not when in scarcity
of all that’s thought and seen?

If not when nothing is left
or when nothing has started.
Cold hands write on death
when love’s still a subject.

But when has a poet written—
on love, when there’s a fly-
lying still, very still-
in an aesthetic kitchen?

It takes tragedy, not delight
for a stale poet’s mind-
sitting still, very still-
to convince her to write.

I crave to write on the dead fly
A poetry— the least a death deserves
to end it, end it all
to make it yet alive.

To continue with the fullstop—
to end with a dash.
talk about the transparent wings
getting wiped with a mop.

There’ll be no buzz in my dorm.
Alas! No tunes of call for mate.
No breeding for her henceforth.
No children of her to mourn.

How will it be known?
The death— has it been acknowledged—
in the times bygone?

Then there’s no use for poetry
Maybe I’ll stop the words
before the corpse— of the fly
ceases my insanity,
triggers my imagination,
makes me numb to the death,
to the skeleton-in me
waiting to be acknowledged.

HOW HEEDLESS! HOW IMPOLITE!
for a poet to write—
on the funeral inside
when there’s a dead fly
and unattended graves outside.
Maybe the poet shouldn’t try.


Scheme ABXA XXCX XXDX EBFE AXFA BXXX GXXG XXXX XHX CXBCEDCH AAIBIB
Poetic Form
Metre 1111 01011 11011 101001 11111 00101010 1110100 111101 1111011 1110110 11111 111001 11101010 111101 101101 0101010 11100101 101101 101101 101011 11111011 0100010101 111111 111101 1010101 11101 10100101 101101 1111011 01111111 1101011 1101011 11111 01111010 0011 11111100 101101 0101101 1010100 1010010 111101 1010001 1011010 11100 101011 1010001 11011 00010111 1001011
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,359
Words 282
Sentences 21
Stanzas 11
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 8, 6
Lines Amount 49
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 92
Words per stanza (avg) 23

About this poem

Poets are known to possess a treasure of creative ideas. It’s believed that they can turn the mundane things into something that’s important. However, there are times when a poet wants to reflect their own distress in their poetry but are constantly in dilemma because of their responsibility to address the anxiety of the society. This poem addresses the mindset of such a poet who wants to write on their difficulties but is troubled with guilt.

Font size:
 

Written on July 13, 2022

Submitted by subikumari108 on August 27, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:24 min read
0

Discuss this Subi Kumari poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Poet Shouldn’t Try" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/136845/the-poet-shouldn%E2%80%99t-try>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    4
    hours
    23
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Which poet is associated with the poem "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"?
    A Emily Dickinson
    B Maya Angelou
    C Langston Hughes
    D Ralph Waldo Emerson