Analysis of Soldier



To where are you marching, soldier,
Is it to some dreadful foreign war?
Why must you leave your home again,
As you’ve done so many times before?
Where this morn does the turbulence crest
That sends you marching into the night?
Who this day shall become your enemy
That tomorrow you must fight?

Soldier, why is the world in conflict,
How does your integrity stand?
Is the world so tarnished by its disparities
That war is of demand?
Why do you sacrifice your hopes and dreams?
Why for others must you bleed?
Why do you cast your lot into the wind
For that which others need?

O’ to where are you marching, soldier,
With your youthful pace?
Why do you transcend the words of God
To maintain his touch of grace?
O’ where does your legion take you?
Upon whom will your convictions tread?
Why does the world keep with death and ruin
For any peace that lies ahead?

O’ what will become of tomorrow, soldier,
Will it become no more than today?
Will tomorrow bring once more the dusky hues
That takes you faraway?
O’ to where are you marching, soldier,
Is it truly to a needful war,
Or are you just marching to the inveterate dirge
That has been heard so many times before?


Scheme abxbxcxc xdxdxexe Afxfxgxg ahxhAbxb
Poetic Form
Metre 11111010 111110101 11111101 111110101 111101001 111100101 1111011100 101111 101101010 11101001 101110110100 111101 111101101 1110111 1111110101 111101 111111010 11101 111010111 1011111 11111011 011110101 1101111010 11011101 1110110110 110111101 101111011 111101 111111010 111010101 1111101001001 1111110101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,142
Words 216
Sentences 17
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 29
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 229
Words per stanza (avg) 54
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Submitted on December 04, 2015

Modified on March 14, 2023

1:04 min read
77

R. L. McCallum

ABOUT ME ​I am a Gothic fiction novelist, poet, and short story writer who currently resides in Hamilton, Montana. My imagination, my travels, and my educational background in history, folklore, myths, legends , superstitions, and cultural taboos provide me with enough creative gunpowder to discharge some relatively fiery and frightful displays of prose and poetry. ​ I grew up with the gift of storytelling, which entertained my friends and siblings and encouraged the wrath of my elders. As years fell behind me, my imagination grew and the voices within became persistent, guiding me onward through the mist and into the shadowy regions where the darkest of deeds are done by the darkest of characters. more…

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