Analysis of I

Joseph Grassa 1956 (Brooklyn NY)



I don't know where I've been;
I don't know who I've seen;

I can't tell you who I've talked to;
I can't tell you if it was a dream;

I don't know how I got there;
I don't know if I really care;

I can't tell you if I'm healthy;
I can't tell you why I'm so filthy;

I'll say I think I need help;
I'll say I'm the worst I ever felt;

I don't know when it started;
I don't know if I'm departed;

I do know things are not right;
I do know I have to give up the fight;

I can see my light is dimming;
I can see my life is crashing;

I do know I have to find a reason;
I do know I don't want to be people pleasing;

I can see I have to find a place to go that much I will say;
I can see I have to go to this place they call AA;

I know for it to work I have to stay and stay and stay;
I know I can't keep going on the way I like to play;

I've tried doing it my way and I keep losing the fight;
I will go I will listen  and see if I can get it right;


Scheme XX XX AA BB XX CC DD EE XE FX FF DD
Poetic Form
Metre 111111 111111 11111111 111111101 1111111 11111101 11111110 111111110 1111111 111011101 1111110 11111010 1111111 1111111101 11111110 11111110 1111111010 111111111010 1111111011111111 1111111111111 11111111110101 11111101011111 11101110111001 111111001111111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 944
Words 251
Sentences 1
Stanzas 12
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 56
Words per stanza (avg) 18

About this poem

Recovery from alcohol and drugs

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Written on June 13, 2023

Submitted by josephg.81565 on September 12, 2023

Modified by josephg.81565 on September 12, 2023

1:21 min read
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    "I" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/168798/i>.

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