Analysis of Lest We Forget
Karl Constantine FOLKES 1935 (Portland)
Lest we forget
Lest we seek not to remember
The scourge of slavery
Haunting, taunting, everywhere
Like bold demons of the underworld
Risen from cavernous dwellings
Let us have our consciences pricked.
Lest we forget
All those laws and all those statutes
Etched now sadly with
A past that’s ever present
Let us own familial demons
Projected onto dark faces
Those with soulful stares that haunt us.
Lest we forget
Lest we might fail to remember
The scourge of slavery
Images of oppression
By legislative seal and power
Enslaving with racial epithets
Let us break those seals of hatred.
Lest we forget
Lest we might think that we have changed
With “freedom” for all
While keeping impositions
For race, for class, for color, and creed
Know we divide and we conquer
In the name of democracy.
Lest we forget
Lest we maintain our pretensions
Jekyll masking Hyde
Masking what we would deny
The darkness of our souls projected
Onto those we would still hinder
Let us embrace wounded spirits.
| Scheme | AbCxxdx Axxxexx AbCxbxf Axxdxbc Aexxfbx |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Tetractys (31%) |
| Metre | 1101 11111010 011100 101010 11101010 10110010 111101001 1101 11101110 11101 0111010 11101010 01010110 11101111 1101 11111010 011100 1001010 11001010 111010 11111110 1101 11111111 11011 1101 111111001 11010110 00110100 1101 110110010 10101 1011101 0101101010 10111110 11011010 |
| Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
| Characters | 1,008 |
| Words | 192 |
| Sentences | 5 |
| Stanzas | 5 |
| Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 7, 7, 7 |
| Lines Amount | 35 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
| Words per line (avg) | 5 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 160 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 34 |
About this poem
In the 21st Century, the scourge of the aftermath of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade of the 17th and 18th centuries in the Americas remains an ever clear and present danger to the charge of democracy in the Americas and worldwide; and to the pursuit of freedom, Justice and equity for all. This poem invites all of us, as global citizens, to continue to participate in the universal goal to eradicate the stench of a past history lurking in every corner of the world, and to bring all of humanity into wholesome healing. This unrhymed seven-line, five-stanza poem, is written in free style with a sustaining 5-8-5-7-9-8-8 lyrical measure throughout the entire composition. more »
Written on June 30, 2022
Submitted by karlcfolkes on June 30, 2022
Modified by karlcfolkes on July 04, 2022
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"Lest We Forget" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 6 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/130912/lest-we-forget>.
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