Analysis of Hindsight
This old house is getting cluttered
And the walls are getting scarred
As I wander through life’s living room
Of broken Mason jars
And I can’t afford the rent this month
I drank it in the bar
Ain’t it funny how you see things twenty-twenty
Ain’t it funny how you see things twenty-twenty
When you’ve gargled every dollar, dime and penny
Then the ev’nin’ whistle blows
And you leave in dirty clothes
Ain’t it funny how you see things twenty-twenty
Sometimes I see a lover’s moon
But most times I see stars
And with bloody feet I curse the room
Of broken Mason jars
But swear that there’s a pot o’ gold
Across next valley’s ridge
While singing silly nursery rhymes
And torching one more bridge
Ain’t it funny how you see things twenty twenty
When you’ve squandered your last dollar, dime and penny
Sittin’ on a fence that’s splintered
Wishing for a soul-food dinner
Ain’t it funny how you see things twenty-twenty
You can always tell a gambler by his shoes
And he always tips the shine-boy, win or lose
With his friends right by his side
‘til they drink his bottle dry
Then the band starts playin’ Robert Johnson blues
Ain’t it funny how you see things twenty twenty
When you’ve wagered your last dollar, dime and penny
Put that money on the table
Lady Luck is just a fable
Ain’t it funny how you see things twenty-twenty
I’ve been raising bees to try and make some money
But the rent is due until you fetch the honey
Gettin’ stung, but gettin’ paid
Spin the chamber, find the maid
Twenty-twenty
Gun is empty
Ain’t it funny
Scheme | axbCxxD DdxxD xcbCxexe DdaxD ffxxf DdggD ddhhddd |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11111010 0011101 111011101 110101 011010111 111001 111011111010 111011111010 111100101010 101101 0110101 111011111010 01110101 111111 011011101 110101 11110111 011101 110101001 010111 111011111010 111011101010 1101110 10101110 111011111010 1111010111 0111011111 1111111 1111101 1011110101 111011111010 111011101010 11101010 10111010 111011111010 111011101110 101110111010 11111 1010101 1010 1110 1110 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,579 |
Words | 285 |
Sentences | 1 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 5, 8, 5, 5, 5, 7 |
Lines Amount | 42 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 172 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
About this poem
An unexamined life is ignorant and ignorance is bliss. This poem reflects on the tuition of life, some autobiographical, but mostly a hodgepodge of faction as one at the losing end might feel it. Note: I have previously published a version of this work here on Poetry.com to gauge interest under the working title Twenty Twenty.
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"Hindsight" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/172931/hindsight>.
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