Analysis of Disabled
He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,
And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,
Legless, sewn short at elbow. Through the park
Voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn,
Voices of play and pleasure after day,
Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him.
About this time Town used to swing so gay
When glow-lamps budded in the light-blue trees
And girls glanced lovelier as the air grew dim,
--In the old times, before he threw away his knees.
Now he will never feel again how slim
Girls' waists are, or how warm their subtle hands,
All of them touch him like some queer disease.
There was an artist silly for his face,
For it was younger than his youth, last year.
Now he is old; his back will never brace;
He's lost his colour very far from here,
Poured it down shell-holes till the veins ran dry,
And half his lifetime lapsed in the hot race,
And leap of purple spurted from his thigh.
One time he liked a bloodsmear down his leg,
After the matches carried shoulder-high.
It was after football, when he'd drunk a peg,
He thought he'd better join. He wonders why . . .
Someone had said he'd look a god in kilts.
That's why; and maybe, too, to please his Meg,
Aye, that was it, to please the giddy jilts,
He asked to join. He didn't have to beg;
Smiling they wrote his lie; aged nineteen years.
Germans he scarcely thought of; and no fears
Of Fear came yet. He thought of jewelled hilts
For daggers in plaid socks; of smart salutes;
And care of arms; and leave; and pay arrears;
Esprit de corps; and hints for young recruits.
And soon, he was drafted out with drums and cheers.
Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer Goal.
Only a solemn man who brought him fruits
Thanked him; and then inquired about his soul.
Now, he will spend a few sick years in Institutes,
And do what things the rules consider wise,
And take whatever pity they may dole.
To-night he noticed how the women's eyes
Passed from him to the strong men that were whole.
How cold and late it is! Why don't they come
And put him into bed? Why don't they come?
Scheme | ABACBC BDCDCXD EXEXFEFGFGFH GDGIIHJIJI KJKJLKLKMM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 1100111011 0100110111 101111101 10111100101 1011010101 1100111111 0111111111 111100111 011110111 001101110111 1111010111 1111111101 1111111101 1111010111 1111011111 1111111101 111110111 1111110111 011110011 0111010111 111101111 1001010101 1110111101 1111011101 111110101 1101011111 1111110101 1111110111 1011111111 1011011011 111111111 1100111101 0111010101 0111011101 01111011101 1111111111 1001011111 11010100111 11110111010 0111010101 011010111 1111010101 1111011101 1101111111 0110111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,010 |
Words | 387 |
Sentences | 24 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 7, 12, 10, 10 |
Lines Amount | 45 |
Letters per line (avg) | 35 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 315 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 77 |
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:58 min read
- 3 Views
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"Disabled" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/56943/disabled>.
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