Analysis of OVER THE RIVER
Kenneth Bartlett 1934 (Leominsterr Mass)
The water flowed by with purpose.
A living power was enticing the senses.
“Come, flow with me; become part of me,
consume all that I have to offer.”
Day after day her hypnotic spell
prevailed, until disturbed
by someone moving along the bank,
on the far side of the river.
And then he was gone.
Swallowed by fog
that chilled cheeks,
feet and hands.
Later, when the sun warmed
and chased away cold,
he emerged from the mist and
waved a hand in salute.
We became friends that summer.
No words passed between us
over the river. Gestures
replaced our voices.
He usually came by himself.
Sometimes a dog tagged along.
Once he was hand in hand
with a child.
Summer was almost over.
He had not appeared for two
weeks. I missed my friend with no
name on the other side of the river.
One warm fall day, as foliage
drifted to the ground; from
a shadow in the woods, he
trekked to the river bank and waved.
Relieved, bubbles of joy
percolated from my toes to my chin.
I was excited to see him again,
on the opposite side of the river.
Performing an unexpected maneuver,
he strolled to a stump, sat, and removed
shoes, socks, and shirt. With purpose
he invaded the river.
Employing long strong strokes he swam
straight towards me. Each rotation
of his arms brought him closer,
my friend from over the river.
I could see a smile on his face,
the red of his hair when the river
reached up and grabbed him
and dragged him into her lair.
He was gone, disappeared.
I lost him, my friend, with
no name, who came over and
and went with the river.
Through my grief, someone spoke.
. When I turned,
he extended his hand and
said with a grin:
“Hi, my name is Brian.”
Scheme | AXBC XXXC XXXX XXDX CAXX XXXX CXXC XXBX XEXC CXAC XFCC XCXX XXDC XXDE F |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 01011110 010101010010 111101111 011111110 110100101 010101 11100101 10111010 01111 1011 111 101 101011 01011 1011010 101001 1011110 111011 1001010 11010 110001101 0101101 111101 101 101110 1110111 1111111 1101011010 1111110 101011 010011 11010101 011011 100111111 1101011101 1010011010 0101010010 111011001 1101110 1010010 01011111 10111010 1111110 11110010 11101111 011111010 11011 0110101 11101 111111 1111100 011010 11111 111 1010110 1101 111110 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,938 |
Words | 376 |
Sentences | 30 |
Stanzas | 15 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1 |
Lines Amount | 57 |
Letters per line (avg) | 22 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 85 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 21 |
About this poem
remembering those who entered the Coal River and disappeared.
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Written on November 11, 2022
Submitted by compostken on November 26, 2022
Modified on March 07, 2023
- 1:52 min read
- 58 Views
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