Analysis of A Few Shades Lighter
Maryah Byrd 2006 (Georgia)
Some bleach, their skin, while others get a tan,
It’s evident that there’s a bigger problem at hand.
We look in the mirror and we don’t like what we see
It’s always what we don’t have that we wish to receive.
What I have isn’t it and who I am isn’t enough,
so being confident in this world is a little more than tough.
I got mad when I looked too dark and happy when I was light.
Sad when I saw someone lighter than me and proud when I saw someone darker than me.
This skewed way of thinking was me for about three years
because the whole definition of beauty just wasn’t clear.
But dark skin is glowy.
Dark skin is bright.
Dark skin reflects that radiant light.
Dark skin is lovely.
Dark skin is precious.
Dark skin is powerful and dark skin is my family.
We were made to see color and recognize beauty,
but that beauty fades quickly when the broken heart inside of it is prejudice and discriminates.
Dark skin rejects envy, because it doesn’t make space for negativity.
So when they say you’d be prettier if, or you’ll be prettier when
No
I’ll be pretty when I love the skin that I’m in.
Scheme | ABCDEEFCGHIFFCJCCKCLMN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1111110101 1100110101011 1100100111111 111111111101 111110111101 1101000111010111 111111110101111 1111110110111111011 1111101110111 0101010110111 11111 1111 110111001 11110 11110 11110001111100 101111001010 111011010101011111000010 11011001111110100 11111110011111001 1 111011101110 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,123 |
Words | 226 |
Sentences | 15 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 22 |
Lines Amount | 22 |
Letters per line (avg) | 38 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 846 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 209 |
About this poem
A poem about colorism
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"A Few Shades Lighter" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/152994/a-few-shades-lighter>.
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