Analysis of Shaggy Tribute to Norm*

Douglas Blair 1951 (London)



At the latter part of workday.
Sun lowering.
A mosquito finds his way
Into the office of a Foot Doctor:
Hi Doctor, how’s things?
Mind if I stretch out
On your sofa. Oh, watch the wings.
Aahhh that’s better.
Doc I think I am in a terrible slump.
Wife bitches all the time
Sareptha Alissandrovich
Thinks I should be extending myself
For more pay, more prestige.
She spends all her time
In a swarm of girlfriends.
Who speak ill of me.
Our Son gives me sideward looks
As he exits for college. Tisk. Tisk.
The one new neighbour thinks
He has an issue with me
About a property line. Stupid bastard.
Survey papers thrown around.
And my poor second daughter
Marissa Alissandrovich
Can hardly walk.
Taken down by that cold spell
Of last winter.
As were so many of us.
I look in the mirror
And see nothing I admire.
Like some disgusting
Spider hanging by a thread
Over the flame of
God’s wrath.
Tentatively held back.
That gun in my drawer
Makes a sickening offer.
Much too dramatic.
Are you getting this down Doc.
The mosquito asks.
It all seems so tedious, so meaningless.
Like a crushed pillow at
The bottom of a fall from a Cliff.
Or the Hoover Dam.
Ever feel like that?
Life, Purpose, Legacy. Adversity.
(Goes on for ten minutes more.
The mosquito does.)
And finally dinner hour calls.
The Doctor interrupts.
Why did you come to my door?
I work with feet.
You should be seeing a Shrink.
So many, many anxieties, Mosquito.

Yeah, but your porch light was on…

* Norm McDonald told story to Conan O’brien. Oops it was a moth and not a mosquito…


Scheme ABACDXDCXEFXXEXGXBXGXXCFXXCHCXBXXXXICXXXHJXXJGIXXXIXXK X K
Poetic Form
Metre 1010111 1100 0010111 0101010110 11011 11111 11101101 1110 11111001001 110101 11 11110101 111101 11101 00111 11111 1011111 111011011 01111 1111011 01010011010 0110101 0111010 0101 1101 1011111 1110 1011011 110010 0110101 11010 1010101 10011 11 100011 11011 1010010 11010 1110111 00101 11111001100 101101 010101101 10101 10111 1101000100 1111101 00101 010010101 01001 1111111 1111 1111001 110100100010 1111111 101011011001011101010010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,586
Words 328
Sentences 43
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 54, 1, 1
Lines Amount 56
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 398
Words per stanza (avg) 94
Font size:
 

Written on February 05, 2023

Submitted by dougb.72572 on February 05, 2023

Modified by dougb.72572 on February 05, 2023

1:38 min read
17

Douglas Blair

Blogging poems since 2008. Once a lawyer in general practice. Then 32 years as Shipper in a heavy metal fabricating plant. Retired 2022. Married and father of two. Poet. Hiker. Harmonica Busker. Gospel enthusiast. Photographer. http://shootdempix.blogspot.com/ more…

All Douglas Blair poems | Douglas Blair Books

4 fans

Discuss this Douglas Blair poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

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

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Shaggy Tribute to Norm*" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/149999/shaggy-tribute-to-norm%2A>.

    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!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    3
    hours
    5
    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?

    »
    The repetition of vowel sounds is an example of _______.
    A assonance
    B repetition
    C rhythm
    D rhyme