Analysis of The Old Man



By: Curtis A. Carroll, 1/9/2016

On the balcony, the old man sat in his rocking chair
Trying to remember the day he was born… and the year
It was so many, many full-moons, and sunsets ago
Trying to add them up, it came to about eighty or so.

“Age is but a number!” Most of you will say
Until you become the one it is said to one day.
Too many worry about it, the old man thought
They are afraid to face their Maker, or their GOD.

The memories he had accumulated over all these years
Some brought him lots of happiness, and some – many tears
Regrets, he had some, but they were all taken in stride,
-As he strolled down the pathway of Life, hitching a ride.

The FRIENDSHIPS he made, and the ones he lost
Made him more complete, even though – at a cost
His relationships with some, were turbulent and rough
-Ending in screams and shouts, and some thrown stuff.

He felt fortunate to have lived a full and happy life
Even though he had failed with his marriage to his wife
Be that as it may – the Good memories outweigh the bad
Most are happy ones; nothing sad.

Another sunset he watched, then got up out of his chair
Another birthday gone, now comes another year
Who knows what tomorrow will bring… who cares?
The old man was just happy to see another year.

Note: Happy Birthday Mon!


Scheme X ABCC DDXX XEFF XXGG HHII ABEB X
Poetic Form
Metre 110010 10100011101101 10101001111001 1111010110101 101111111011011 11101011111 0110101111111 110100110111 110111110111 010011010010111 1111110001101 0111111011001 111101111001 0101100111 11101101101 101011010001 1001010111 11100111010101 1011111110111 1111101100101 11101101 0101111111111 01011110101 111011111 0111110110101 11011
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,268
Words 247
Sentences 11
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1
Lines Amount 26
Letters per line (avg) 38
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 124
Words per stanza (avg) 31
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Submitted on March 02, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:14 min read
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