Analysis of Bone-Meals



Bones and their ash remain,
retain and nourish
the under-croft, the terrain.
The meadow green.
Bones replant.

The dead feed the living,
and the living cut down the living
to feed themselves.
The world must eat itself.
This is called husbandry and farming.
It is also called shopping and carrying,
killing, and butchery.
Those that eat only vegetables
also partake.

A grave is a half-way house,
Urns are waiting rooms.
The soil nurses bones,
worms wheel the earth towards the sky
for its blessing.
Osseous clouds seed nations.

What follows bone and bone ash
becomes the crop,
the tomorrow-cart laden
with its bone harvest.
Bone-flowers scent the air.

Bones underpin bridges and wingspans,
citadels of stone.
Bone dust scaffolds every stem and branch.

Bones in tombs and catacombs
are food for the larder.
A storage for generations.

Stars shed their elemental dust,
becoming bone fodder.
Bone ash is the genesis
of all unknown beginnings.


Scheme AXAXX BBCXBBXXX XXXXBD XXXEX CXX XFD EFXX
Poetic Form Tetractys  (26%)
Metre 101101 01010 0101001 011 101 011010 001011010 1101 011101 111100010 11101100100 100100 11110100 1001 0110111 11101 01101 11010101 1110 11110 1101011 0101 001110 11110 110101 1101001 111 1110100101 101010 111010 0101010 1110101 010110 1110100 1101010
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 902
Words 154
Sentences 19
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 5, 9, 6, 5, 3, 3, 4
Lines Amount 35
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 107
Words per stanza (avg) 22
Font size:
 

Submitted by JohnDiamond on February 16, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

46 sec read
7

Discuss this John Diamond poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

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

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Bone-Meals" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/62039/bone-meals>.

    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.
    1
    day
    15
    hours
    1
    minute

    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?

    »
    A poem that has no rhyme is called ________.
    A a ballad
    B a limerick
    C a song
    D free verse