Analysis of To Whom You Pray



I reject all your religion,
  in favor of myself

Those spewing virtues dogma,
  often kill, with little felt

I reject your revelation,
  with the truth inside my heart

I surrender your salvation,
  from your guilt I live apart

I challenge your commitment,
  when the road gets hard and long

The good intentions you submit,
  Hell’s words without a song

I reject all faith in platitudes,
and your threats—both veiled and not

I refuse to live in servitude,
 and tied to what we’re not

I will reach inside the goodness,
  born to each and every man

I will choose to see the wonder,
  of those souls who say “I can”

And as I look beyond tomorrow,
  to that place we call today

I will live in thanks for who I am,
  —and not to whom you pray

(Villanova Pennsylvania: November, 2016)


Scheme AX XX AB AB XC XC XD XD XE FE XG XG F
Poetic Form
Metre 10111010 01011 1101010 1011101 1011010 1010111 10101010 1111101 1101010 1011101 01010101 110101 10111010 0111101 10111010 011101 11101010 11101001 11111010 1111111 01110101 1111101 111011111 011111 010010010
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 765
Words 140
Sentences 1
Stanzas 13
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1
Lines Amount 25
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 46
Words per stanza (avg) 11
Font size:
 

Submitted by KurtPhilipBehm on June 12, 2019

Modified on March 05, 2023

42 sec read
19

Kurt Philip Behm

Longtime writer with twelve books in publication. Three of them Poetry. : The Death Of The Playground : The Sword Of Ichiban : Searching For Crazy Horse : Darkening Sun : An Anthology Of Perception-Vol's 1 & 2 : After Midnight : Sammy And Bumpers : The Fall City Mandate : Revenge Along The War Trail : Death from The Sky more…

All Kurt Philip Behm poems | Kurt Philip Behm Books

22 fans

Discuss this Kurt Philip Behm poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "To Whom You Pray" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/48768/to-whom-you-pray>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    9
    hours
    46
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    What is the term for the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.
    A Line break
    B Dithyramb
    C Enjambment
    D A turn