Analysis of This is Africa
How to describe beauty to one who has not seen?
The veldt afire in the shimmering heat
too richly golden for Egyptian kings.
In the distance lifts a shaggy glowing crown,
rosy palettes as the sun inches down.
This, I think, is Africa.....
Hungry lionesses watch patiently.
Unsuspecting zebras graze peacefully.
Lions prey while zebras bray until....
Life is death, death is life,
Deprivation, starvation, strife.
The real Africa.
Night to day, day to night....
lions roar, hyenas laugh, birds silent.
Night's canvas slender protection.
The strong prowl without relent.
Impenetrable black, safety an illusion.
Nights in Africa.
On the Wami, hippos wag stunted tails
causing death when warnings fail.
Crocs with toothy grins glide by,
kings of fishing eye waters from the sky.
All at risk and want to hide.
This.... and this... and this is Africa!
Here plagues fall and rise,
causing hemorrhage from the eyes.
Sleeping death comes from flies.
The biggest killer is the smallest,
viral care does not exist.
Africa's dark side.
How to tell of dangerous climbs?
Macheted men hack shackling vines.
Of mountains steep and muddy
where the Congo meets Uganda
assault rifles at the ready.
Here too, is Africa.
Baby gorillas play in trees.
Infants in mothers' arms at ease.
Young males pound their chests.
Silverbacks graze and rest,
gentle strength withstands all tests.
I love this Africa!
Africa beautiful, merciless.
Imagination real, real unimaginable.
My desire is not reduced.
I am addicted and seduced.
Opium's opium, euphoria, pain
Africa, to be with you again...
Scheme | XXXAAB CCXDDB XXEXEB XXFFGB HHHXXG XXCBCB IIJXJB XXKKXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 110110111111 0101001001 1101010101 00101010101 101101101 1111100 1011100 010101100 101110101 111111 0100101 01100 111111 1010101110 11010010 0110101 010001101010 10100 101101101 1011101 1110111 1110110101 1110111 101011100 11101 10100101 101111 010101010 1011101 10011 11111001 11111 1101010 10101010 01101010 111100 10010101 10010111 11111 1101 1010111 111100 100100100 00101101000 10101101 11010001 110001001 100111101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,569 |
Words | 303 |
Sentences | 39 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 26 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 153 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 32 |
About this poem
My travels to Africa have been some of the most inspirational of my life. When something went wrong our guides would say, TIA This is Africa. Hence for this poem I used Africa as an all encompassing descriptor in place of a single country or countries.
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"This is Africa" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/168471/this-is-africa>.
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