Analysis of Winners Never Cry



Though your grandpa was a quiet man, he taught his lessons well.
He taught me ways to understand with stories I still tell.
The first time I had lost a game, he told me what to do.
So now, my son, in grandpa's name, I'll do the same for you.

Hold your head up proudly, wipe that tear out of your eye.
You still can be a winner, but winners never cry.
You've just reached the place in life where winners all begin.
You have to know the taste of loss to savor any win.

If you want to see a rainbow, you have to take the rain.
If you want to be successful, you have to take the strain.
If you want to be a winner and hold your head up high
You have to know just how to lose, 'cause winners never cry.

You could win most any game and jump and shout for joy.
That's a part of life that's shared by every growing boy.
But here's a thought for the little guys who join the ranks of men.
A winner is the "loser" who can suck it up and try again.


Scheme AABB CCDD EECC FFGG
Poetic Form Quatrain 
Metre 11110101111101 1111101110111 01111101111111 1111011110111 1111101111111 1111010110101 1110101110101 11110111110101 1111101111101 11111010111101 11111010011111 11111111110101 1111101010111 10111111100101 110110101110111 0101010111110101
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 940
Words 212
Sentences 15
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 44
Words per line (avg) 12
Letters per stanza (avg) 177
Words per stanza (avg) 49

About this poem

This one is about a father giving advice to his son about how to lose gracefully and with dignity. This could be one of the hardest lessons to get across.

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Written on May 15, 2006

Submitted by npirandy on March 08, 2023

Modified on May 01, 2023

1:05 min read
114

Randy West

I'm 76 years old and a combat veteran from Vietnam. I used to compose poetry while on ambush patrol as a way of staying awake on watch, since falling asleep could be hazardous to my health. I started early in life though, because, as a child, I would write little tidbits to my mom for the heck of it. more…

All Randy West poems | Randy West Books

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