Analysis of BEFORE THE MIRROR CRACKED

John Townsend 1945 (Loughborough)



There was a time that I recall
it was there
hung in the hall,
a huge ornate
Oak frame mirror
that had a dusty look
embedded in the glass,
Kind of made it smokey
removed the blemishes
of your skin
quite an odd reflection.
Almost detached from reality
that mirror did not seem to fit
it belonged to a bygone age
long before the crack appeared in it.
Maybe then it was resplendent
hung upon a mansion wall
then when someone cracked it
it fell from grace
ended up in some junk store
hidden away.
I wonder what stories it could tell
before the crack appeared again
upon this wall,
who gazed upon it
admiring their faces
perhaps looking so pretty
or neat
even blowing kisses.
Before that crack appeared
this mirror was revered
a place of comfort
self-praise and appeal,
now it merely
serves a function
tie straight
hair neat,
just a mirror
and a passing
tete a tete.


Scheme ABACDEFGHIJGKLKMAKNOPQRAKSGTSUUVWGJCTDXY
Poetic Form Tetractys  (40%)
Etheree  (23%)
Metre 1101111 111 1001 0101 1110 110101 010001 111110 010100 111 111010 101110 11011111 1011011 101010101 10111010 1010101 11111 1111 1010111 1001 110110111 01010101 0111 11011 010110 0110110 11 101010 011101 110101 01110 11001 1110 1010 11 11 1010 0010 101
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 860
Words 169
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 40
Lines Amount 40
Letters per line (avg) 17
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 690
Words per stanza (avg) 160

About this poem

We often place a huge responsibility on a mirror, it is expected to understand us, make us look what we are not, and so much more.

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Written on September 27, 2022

Submitted by Nolostalgia on September 27, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

50 sec read
53

John Townsend

It has become habitual for me to play with words, even as I converse, I hear a poetic annoyance ready to pop out when quite honestly, no one would understand. Perhaps I have the advantage of seeing the streetlamps turned off by a man with a long pole, that I saw The Beatles on stage twice. That I conversed with Spike Milligan and touted my songs among the throng of Denmark Street in London. Well 1945 began this is me, still around, looking forward to The Bootleg Beatles in 2022. more…

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