Analysis of To be black
Hasan Johnson 1980 (Peoria Illinois)
To be black is a crime
To be prey
To be hunted
To be chased down
To be in lack
To be in fear
To be hated
To be unloved
To be despised
I wonder why my struggle is my crown
On the run
On the lamb
On the go
On the move
On the road
Wanted for being black
My birthright is to be pursued
I’m guilty
I’ve done nothing but try to be a man
Your privilege won’t allow you to understand
Our God blessed you and cursed me
And even in death I’ll never be free
My skin color is a crime I can’t wash off
Scheme | ABCDEFCGHDIJKLMENOPQOOR |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111101 111 1110 1111 1101 1101 1110 1101 1101 1101110111 101 101 101 101 101 101101 1111101 110 1110111101 1101011101 10111011 0100111011 11101011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 514 |
Words | 125 |
Sentences | 1 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 23 |
Lines Amount | 23 |
Letters per line (avg) | 16 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 375 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 109 |
About this poem
Crime
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Written on March 20, 2023
Submitted by HasanM.Johnson on March 20, 2023
Modified on March 21, 2023
- 37 sec read
- 2 Views
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"To be black" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/154427/to-be-black>.
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