Analysis of If Old Eyes Could Clearly See
If my eyes could see as clearly
As others see me looking,
They would see a thousand miles.
They would see years
And tears and swallowed fears
And as intently as I listen,
They would see what I hear
And hear what I see.
If my feet could touch the ground
And not ride upon worn out soles
That do not cushion,
Rather mask pain they should feel,
From toe to heel, and from
Ankle to arch,
Up and up the feelings would be,
High on the calf and swarming the knee.
If my ears could hear as clearly
As in my youth and before I flew
Thousands of miles away to be
Pummeled by jungle noises
Louder than freight trains roaring
And harsher than jet planes soaring--
I would hear the tiniest sound
And discern the smallest plea.
Age has nearly finished
Its assigned task of killing me,
Sense by sense, breaking
Connections to the touchable
That no longer elicit feeling
In my fingers and toes. I am left
Lacking what are distance and space
But distractions to me.
And with a loss of sensual clarity
Comes a blooming of new roses
And a flowering anew in a soil
Deepened and made fertile
By the rains of nearly a century.
And comes a new vision, fed
By the dark loam, my spirit
Grown at last, tall and free.
Morning, and a dampening fog
Settles upon the land and in
My bones and awakening mind.
Cleansed, then dressed ambiguously,
Undetermined yet, the day’s route,
And until the fog lifts, I waver,
Waiting for the clouds to clear and the sun
To rise upon me.
Scheme | ABXCCDXA EXDXXXAA AXAFBBEA XABGBXXA AFXGAXXA XXXAXXDA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111110 1101110 1110101 1111 010101 010101110 111111 01111 1111101 01101111 11110 1011111 111101 1011 10101011 110101001 11111110 101100111 10110111 1011010 1011110 01011110 11101001 0010101 111010 10111101 11110 01010100 111001010 011001111 10111001 101011 01011100100 10101110 0010001001 100110 1011100100 0101101 1011110 111101 10001001 10010100 11001001 1111 0101011 001011110 1010111001 11011 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,459 |
Words | 301 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 190 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 46 |
About this poem
As I age, my eyes have faltered along with my limbs and joints, so that as I strive on, I am limited by my decaying body.
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"If Old Eyes Could Clearly See" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/158615/if-old-eyes-could-clearly-see>.
Discuss this Douglas J. Gillert poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In