Analysis of All That I Had



When I was young not much more than a lad
I never appreciated all that I had.
My parents always seemed to live in the past
But when I turn eighteen I’d be free at last.
—-
I wanted to leave now but I was no fool
I needed an education, I needed school.
The military came to give some of us a test
I decided to try, I’m ready to leave the nest.
—-
While taking the test I was so unsure
I’d never take a test so difficult before.
I thought I had passed it and I did, of course
That’s how I got in the United States Air Force.
—-
Now that I’m older I look back on those days.
I can see how parents get set in their ways.
I’m now over fifty and I think it’s sad
That I never appreciated all that I had.


Scheme AABB CCDD EFGG HHAA
Poetic Form
Metre 1111111101 11001001111 1101111001 11110111111 1 11011111111 11010101101 010011111101 110111101101 1 1100111101 110101110001 11111101111 111100010111 1 11110111111 11111011011 11101001111 111001001111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 699
Words 150
Sentences 9
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 19
Lines Amount 19
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 523
Words per stanza (avg) 150

About this poem

I was missing being back in Texas and seeing my parents. That happens to me a lot from here in the Philippines. I think this poem reflects on how much you miss something that you thought you wanted to get away from.

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Written on October 27, 2014

Submitted by UJ on August 02, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

45 sec read
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