Analysis of For Two Caregivers



I am the parched land, and you are the water
Together we can make rivers that caress the rocks and sparkle with joy
Our waterfalls will vault into the air with fearlessness
And implicit faith that the land and water will be together again in the pools below
Cuddling, silty, not knowing where land ends and water begins.

I am the stunted forest, and you are the sun
Together we can grow a home for birds and insects and mammals and newts
The Swainson’s thrush teases us with its come-hither call but stays just out of sight
Our shadows walk across the ground, you warm the rock for the lizard, I cool the stream for the fish
In the morning, the trees are me, but when you set, they are we.

I am the stagnant air, and you are the wind
Together we can make music, tickling the trees, whistling through rocks, harmonizing with the grasses
Our waves bring weary wanderers to shore, the crashing, crashing, crashing sets our heartbeats as one
We dance over the mountaintops, fling clouds across the sky, bring rain to the parched land.
But you are also the parched land, and I am also the water, and we will learn to be cared for by one another.


Scheme AXBXB CBXXX XBCXA
Poetic Form
Metre 11011011010 010111101010101011 101011010111 00101101010110100100101 10111011101001 110101001101 01011101110101001 011101111101111111 10110101110110101101101 001001111111111 11010101101 0101111010110111001010 101110100110101010110111 1110010110101111011 11110011011100100111111111010
Characters 1,144
Words 217
Sentences 4
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5
Lines Amount 15
Letters per line (avg) 60
Words per line (avg) 14
Letters per stanza (avg) 301
Words per stanza (avg) 71

About this poem

We are two caregivers with long histories of putting others before ourselves, and when we realized that we like each other, we both said, "How is that supposed to work? Who's going to take care of whom?" This is my answer in a poem.

Font size:
 

Written on January 31, 2023

Submitted by pjhernes on February 08, 2023

Modified on March 26, 2023

1:05 min read
68

Peter Hernes

I write constantly for my job (environmental research), and I teach writing in my classes, and I frequently give students the option to write poetry for their final project. I personally am a fan of poetic prose, but every now and then I can be inspired to tighten it up for poetry. I am also rather obsessive about hiking and being out in the mountains. more…

All Peter Hernes poems | Peter Hernes Books

0 fans

Discuss this Peter Hernes poem analysis with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "For Two Caregivers" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/153180/for-two-caregivers>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    May 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    1
    day
    14
    hours
    4
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Roald Dahl wrote: "The animal I really dig, above all others is the..."
    A pig
    B cat
    C dog
    D horse