Analysis of Shadows I have seen
Brian S. Clifton 1975 (Ohio)
Is it a silhouette of memory,
Or a shadow I have seen—
In the brief moments
'twixt waking and sleep,
in the small space which intervenes?
The fleeting seconds or less
(ah! can such things be?)
When confusion still lingers—
and life's real that dreams’
scenes blur strangely together.
When I shall open my eyes
to find her beside me;
behold the shape of her face
and the visage of her smiling.
Or if instead I am wakened
by past times' laughter,
my children playing outside—
while my mistakes lay ahead
yet unmade, not looming behind.
The remnants of my memories
take form as reveries
preventing me from forgetting
what I've been advised to dismiss.
Yet still, I am unconvinced...
How can a reverie or a dream
not be thought real but a lie
when it is in such moments
I still dare to feel alive...
or dare to believe I am alive.
Scheme | AXBXX XAXXC XAXD ECEEE FFDXE XXBGG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110011100 101111 00110 11001 0011101 0101011 11111 1010110 01111 1110010 1111011 110011 0101101 00101010 1101111 11110 1101011 1101101 10111001 01011100 111100 01011010 11101101 111101 110100101 1111101 1110110 1111101 111011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 863 |
Words | 182 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 4, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 29 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 107 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 26 |
About this poem
I often wake up forgetting my children are grown and expect to hear them laughing and playing outside or down the hall until I remember when and where I am... and for a moment, I am sad. This poem is inspired by that feeling.
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Written on March 18, 2023
Submitted by Locutus2999 on March 18, 2023
Modified by Locutus2999 on March 24, 2023
- 55 sec read
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