Analysis of The Lark
Gabriela Mistral 1889 (Vicuña) – 1957 (Hempstead)
You said that you loved the lark more than any other bird because of its straight flight toward the sun. That is how I wanted our flight to be.
Albatrosses fly over the sea, intoxicated by salt and iodine. They are like unfettered waves playing in the air, but they do not lose touch with the other waves.
Storks make long journeys; they cast shadows over the Earth's face. But like albatrosses, they fly horizontally, resting in the hills.
Only the lark leaps out of ruts like a live dart, and rises, swallowed by the heavens. Then the sky feels as though the Earth itself has risen. Heavy jungles below do not answer the lark. Mountains crucified over the flatlands do not answer.
But a winged arrow quickly shoots ahead, and it sings between the sun and the Earth. One does not know if the bird has come down from the sun or risen from the Earth. It exists between the two, like a flame. When it has serenaded the skies with its abundance, the exhausted lark lands in the wheatfield.
You, Francis, wanted us to achieve that vertical flight, without a zigzag, in order to arrive at that haven where we could rest in the light.
You wanted the morning air filled with arrows, with a multitude of carefree larks. Francis, with each morning song, you imagined that a net of golden larks floated between the Earth and the sky.
We are burdened, Francis. We cherish our lukewarm rut: our habits. We exalt ourselves in glory just as the towering grass aspires. The loftiest blade does not reach beyond the high pines.
Only when we die do we achieve that vertical flight! Never again, held back by earthly ruts, will our bodies inhibit our souls.
Scheme | ABCDEEFGH |
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Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111011110101011111010111111010111 1001100101001101011101011000111111110101 11110111100111110011010010001 10011111101101010101010111101011101010011110011010100101110 10110101010110101001111110111110111010110101011011110100111010001011001 110101101110010101001010111101111001 110010111101010111101110110101011101100101001 111010110101111010101001010110100101001111101011 10111110111001100111110111010010101 |
Characters | 1,795 |
Words | 298 |
Sentences | 24 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 9 |
Lines Amount | 9 |
Letters per line (avg) | 144 |
Words per line (avg) | 36 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 1,299 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 324 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 30, 2023
- 1:29 min read
- 248 Views
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"The Lark" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/14513/the-lark>.
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