Analysis of Hollow
Joe Strickland 1986 (Hobbysville, SC)
The city lights are bright and bold,
But beneath them lurks a dim form.
The streets are lined with broken dreams,
And the stench of sorrow always rises.
The buildings rise up to the ether
But they can't hide the pain that lies
Within the hearts of those who roam
These concrete paths where life has hovered.
The noise is deafening and cruel,
And it echoes through the endless regulation
Of industry that never ends,
The rhythm of the city's clock.
The people walk with heads held low,
Forgetting who they are and sense.
They hustle, bustle, and they strive,
But at what cost do they endure?
The hunger for success is real,
But it's a never-ending patter.
The more they gain, the less they feel
The happiness that should disclose.
The greed that drives this urban life
Is like a poison without a cure.
It eats away at human souls,
A cancer with no end to drive.
The homeless roam the streets at night,
Forgotten by the city's force.
They huddle in the coldness,
With no one to hear their despair.
The crime that stalks the city's heart
Is like a shadow in the dark.
It knows no morals, no contrition,
And leaves behind a path of death.
The drugs that flow through city veins
Are like a cancer that won't desist.
They tear apart families, and they destroy
The lives of those who get caught in this horror.
The pollution in the urban air
Is like a toxin we all must carry.
It chokes our lungs, and leaves us choking
For the air we need, for the life we're asking.
The highways that connect our towns
Are like a spider's web that neighbors
Our lives, our dreams, our hopes, our fears,
And keeps us trapped, forever.
The crowds that throng the city's streets
Are like a sea that never retires.
They push and shove and always strive,
But in the end, what will they discover?
The loneliness that fills the heart
Of those who live this civil segment
Is like a weight that's hard to bear
And leaves us feeling lost and alarmed.
The unrelenting pace of life
Is like a dagger that we have no choice but to fight.
It cuts away at our souls each day,
And leaves us drained, in disarray.
The broken dreams that lie in wait
For those who enter this inner city shape.
Are like a warning we should heed,
Before we get caught in this strain.
The fast food culture we have embraced,
Is like a poison we've all tasted.
It feeds our form but not our souls,
And leaves us empty, with no sway.
The corporate greed that rules our days
Is like a monster that always butchers.
It takes away our freedoms, our rights,
And leaves us powerless in its glimpse.
The endless stress that grinds us downward,
Is like a beast that wears a crown.
It rules our lives, our thoughts, our fears,
And leaves us helpless with our wounds.
The endless rat race we all run,
Is like a war that's never over.
We chase our dreams, but in the end,
We find that nothing can really heal.
The goddamned life we've come to know,
Is like a cancer that just won't die.
It eats away at all we hold dear,
And leaves us hollow, with no joy.
Scheme | XXXX AXXB XCXX DXEF GAGX HFIE JXXK LXCX XXMA KXNN XOPA XXEA LXKX HJQQ XXXX XXIQ XOXX BXPX CAXG DXXM |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (25%) Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 01011101 10111011 01111101 001110110 010111010 11110111 01011111 101111110 011100010 01101010010 11001101 01010101 01011111 01011101 11010011 11111101 01010111 110101010 01110111 01001101 01111101 110100101 11011101 01011111 01010111 01010101 1100010 11111101 01110101 1101001 111101010 01010111 01111101 110101101 11011000101 01111110110 001000101 1101011110 1110101110 10111101110 01101101 11011110 101101101101 0111010 01110101 110111001 1101011 1001111010 01001101 111111010 11011111 011101001 0010111 1101011111111 1101110111 0111001 01011101 11110110101 11010111 01111011 011101101 110101110 1110111101 01110111 0100111101 110101110 11011010101 011100011 010111110 11011101 11101101101 011101101 01011111 110111010 111011001 111101101 0111111 110101111 110111111 01110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 3,003 |
Words | 640 |
Sentences | 36 |
Stanzas | 20 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 80 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 116 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 28 |
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"Hollow" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/159815/hollow>.
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