Analysis of INTRUDER ALERT

John Townsend 1945 (Loughborough)



I was caught
mid-thought
about to write
some nonsense was falling out of my head.
Caught by a noise
unsure what it was
I sat still
listened intent.
Amid the silence
that noise was clear
an intruder was lurking somewhere within,
I dare not move
just looked around
trying to decide
what I should do.
Then a magazine slid sideways
from where it was rested
by the side of my chair
causing my eyes to look everywhere,
there it was this daring intruder
scampering across the carpet
a mouse with whiskers
distinct like a wilted toothbrush
running for cover
behind the sofa.
I leapt from my chair
notepad in hand
thinking I will catch you
but off they ran.
No point in pursuit
down under floorboards
this intruder wins
amid their moment
of victorious asunder.


Scheme ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRRSTUVSWRXOYZ1 2 3 S
Poetic Form
Metre 111 11 0111 1101101111 1101 01111 111 1001 01010 1111 1010110101 1111 1101 1011 1111 101011 111110 101111 10111110 111110010 10001010 01110 01101010 10110 01010 11111 101 101111 1111 11001 1101 10101 01110 10100010
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 751
Words 142
Sentences 6
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 34
Lines Amount 34
Letters per line (avg) 18
Words per line (avg) 4
Letters per stanza (avg) 608
Words per stanza (avg) 135

About this poem

Our senses sometimes alert us to noise, an intruder.

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Written on October 12, 2022

Submitted by Nolostalgia on October 12, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

42 sec read
46

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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