Analysis of A Former Bigot. I'm So Sorry.
Joe Strickland 1986 (Hobbysville, SC)
The slurs I hauled
Into my mouth like a sailor's net,
Heavy with hate,
Leeches of ignorance
Clinging to my tongue.
How easy it was,
To fear what I could not comprehend,
To label love as unnatural,
To close my ears
To the song of progress.
Like waves eroding the shore
My beliefs crumbled,
Their jagged edges
Mellowed by the tide
Of knowledge finally seeping in.
I was a silhouette, a whisper,
A vessel of intolerance carrying
The weight
Of countless lost chances,
An ocean of jagged tears unshed.
But as the birds skimmed the horizon,
Fipping their wings in a palette of freedom,
I realized the regret
Of my former self,
A pebble tossed blindly into the abyss.
Now, aching with the weight of my past,
I bask in the gentle wash of acceptance,
Knowing that love is a radiant chorus,
And it doesn't need my permission
To sing.
Scheme | ABCDX XXXXX XXEXX XFCEA GXBXX XDXGF |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (40%) Etheree (30%) |
Metre | 0111 011110101 1011 101100 10111 11011 11111101 110110100 1111 10111 1101001 10110 1110 10101 110100100 11001010 01010100100 01 110110 1101111 110110010 1110010110 110001 11101 01011001001 110101111 11001011010 10111010010 011011010 11 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 839 |
Words | 181 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 108 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"A Former Bigot. I'm So Sorry." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 12 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/162933/a-former-bigot.-i%27m-so-sorry.>.
Discuss this Joe Strickland 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