Analysis of The Night Poem

S.J. Baker 2005 (Gateshead)



Lightbulb balls of sweat fall and roll
On pavements, and roads,

Mile upon mile of it:
The Nile, The Nile.

A flash of skin, a gap of clear
Like a cut.

A kind of see-through pus, leaking
Fat air through snake-eyed light

And snake-tongued hiss.
Concave trees touched by searchlight. Naked word.

Naked wind, Cold breath.
It stops -placid- a gash, a stream

And over it, the animal cry
Of wild noise. Blood confetti,

Dish soap hands
Stamped into iridescent stars -

A cut
A cut

You try to drown me out,
But fall flat and clear, onto dead earth.


Scheme xx xx xa xx xx xx xx xx AA xx
Poetic Form Tetractys  (30%)
Metre 1111101 11001 101111 0101 01110111 101 01111110 111111 0111 011111101 10111 11100101 010101001 1111010 111 1010101 01 01 111111 111011011
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 547
Words 119
Sentences 8
Stanzas 10
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
Lines Amount 20
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 41
Words per stanza (avg) 10
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Written on June 01, 2022

Submitted by samj.14828 on June 01, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

35 sec read
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