Analysis of Dreams and Regret



The machine keeping my mother alive has an odd swoosh sound as it pumps

I stand listening, watching her eyes flutter

Memories flooding my mind

I try to push the bad memories away,
as there are so many

Mom wanted a different life from the one she led

She proclaimed it each time her children annoyed her

Perhaps why I’m the only one here

I watch her face, still beautiful after years of stress

Maybe she should have had that life she desired

She wanted to travel and see the world

Her hidden fashion magazines fueled her desires

She would whisper stories of grandiose people and places as she read

It was always clear, she didn’t want to be here

Here with the children she bore and tried on occasion to raise

Here with a man who had many demands and little compassion

Here in this life she lived with total regret

As the swoosh sound continued, and the doctors stood by waiting

I bent down to kiss her cheek for the first time in my life

Heaven is grand and fashionable mother

I whispered oh so softly

It will be everything you’ve ever dreamed of

And none of us will be there


Scheme X A X XB C A D X X X X C D X X X X X A B X X
Poetic Form
Metre 001101100111111111 11100100110 1001011 11110110001 111110 1100100110111 101111010010 011101011 1101110010111 101111111010 1101100101 0101010100010 11101010110010111 1111111111 110101101101011 1101111001010010 10111111001 101101000101110 11111011011011 10110100010 1101110 1111011011 0111111
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,104
Words 228
Sentences 1
Stanzas 22
Stanza Lengths 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
Lines Amount 23
Letters per line (avg) 38
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 39
Words per stanza (avg) 9

About this poem

An end of life moment brings reflections on a life of regret

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Submitted by DebrahLeigh on October 28, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:08 min read
48

Debrah Leigh

Southerner transplanted to California to enjoy family, writing at sunset, and Little League Baseball with the Grands. New Poet seeking to share visualizations and empathy for those living in life’s seasons of darkness. more…

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