Analysis of Iron In The Soul
Robert Graham 1946 (Glasgow)
I see her rising from sweat-soaked sheets
her face gaunt and drawn.
Each night a rearguard fight to hold the line,
to struggle, push back, reach another dawn,
endure the stinging loss, major defeats
and fast decline.
Then she is making tea and toast,
a single scrambled egg
as others do worn down by months of pain
that fells the strong, compels the rest to beg
a moment free from hearing their own ghost
sing death’s refrain.
Then she is standing on a bus
with not one empty seat.
She clutches at a strap, silently prays
no fragile bones betray her fragile feet,
no stop or start create unbalanced fuss
or lurching sways.
Then I am reading and smell her fear
descend like mustard gas.
I brace myself, inhale and numbly stare
at troubling visions of what will come to pass,
of what will be. Images blur then clear;
they birth despair.
Then one faint sound gouges a hole,
a space-affording sight.
I hear her final breath, watch how her eyes
behind translucent lids emit a light
that shrinks the ball of iron in my soul
to half its size.
Scheme | ABCBAC DEFEDF GHIHGI JKLKJL MNONMO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (27%) |
Metre | 110101111 01101 110111101 1101110101 0101011001 0101 11110101 010101 1101111111 1101010111 0101110111 1101 11110101 111101 1101011001 1101010101 1111010101 1101 111100101 011101 11101011 110010111111 1111100111 1101 1111101 010101 1101011101 0101010101 1101110011 1111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,092 |
Words | 209 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 164 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 38 |
About this poem
I wasn’t there when my mother died, but I was there.
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Iron In The Soul" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/165925/iron-in-the-soul>.
Discuss this Robert Graham poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In