Analysis of Time and Death
Time and Death sat all alone
To watch the new Sun rise,
As warmth it brought to lifeless stone
And light to empty skies.
Time stood up and ran to see
The beauties that awoke.
For he had waited endlessly
In darkness’ heavy cloak.
All things living he embraced;
They warmed his weary soul.
He tended all things life had graced;
To nurture was his goal.
Death in turn was bound by law
Above himself and Time,
To claim the beauties they now saw
And end them in their prime.
Pained to see such beauty slain
Time begged a small reprieve.
“If you wish not to cause me pain
One flower you must leave.”
Death obliged and left alone
A flower that Time chose,
And soon it was quite mighty grown;
A wonder of a rose.
Blooming so for ages long
The rose brought Time to smile.
But Death looked on and knew it wrong
So said “but wait a while.”
Time with love the rose did tend
Until it ceased to bloom.
It found life tiresome with no end
And mutely begged for doom.
Death for mercy took the life
That would not deathless live.
“You see” said he “I bring no strife
But meaningfulness give.”
Seeing things he loved so hurled
Into their dying gasp,
Time vengeful swore to shape a world
Where Death would have no grasp.
Time took all the world in hand
To try and flee Death’s reign.
From age to age he changed the land
But such escape was vain.
Nations rose and creatures passed
As earth raced through the sky,
Yet every age was like the last;
All things still begged to die.
Weary of a losing war
That pained him from the start,
He aged all things so life no more
Might break his greedy heart.
Robbed of purpose even Death
Had only now to die.
He whispered with his dying breath
“You killed all things, not I.”
And lastly darkened he the sun
That warmed this lifeless stone.
With Death now dying, Time had won
In darkness, all alone.
Scheme | ABAB CDCD EFEF GHGH IJIJ AKAK LMLM NONO PXPX QRQR SISI TUTU VWVW XUXU YAYA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (93%) Etheree (35%) |
Metre | 1011101 110111 11111101 011101 1110111 010101 11110100 010101 1110101 111101 11011111 110111 1011111 010101 11010111 011011 1111101 110101 11111111 110111 1010101 010111 01111101 010101 1011101 011111 11110111 111101 1110111 011111 111100111 01111 1110101 11111 11111111 111 1011111 011101 11011101 111111 1110101 110111 11111101 110111 1010101 111101 110011101 111111 1010101 111101 11111111 111101 1110101 110111 11011101 111111 01010101 111101 11110111 010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,869 |
Words | 396 |
Sentences | 25 |
Stanzas | 15 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 60 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 95 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
Font size:
Written on February 05, 2013
Submitted by JohnsMusings on June 11, 2022
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 1:58 min read
- 42 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Time and Death" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/129782/time-and-death>.
Discuss this John M. Broadhead poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In