Analysis of Johnny’s Place
Mike Grimes 1986 (Florida)
Johnny Fixerupper was a carpenter by trade,
Building sev’ral bungalows before the second grade.
Father taught him all the tricks, the two made quite a team.
When they built a mansion, Johnny beveled ev'ry beam.
He slept on a sawhorse with a pillow and a drill,
Clinging to his wrenches and his blanket hewn of twill.
Johnny dreamt of two-by-fours and hammers as he'd sleep,
Never once a pasture with a flock of jumping sheep.
Fixing up our houses was just one of many chores.
He'd replace the baseboards and he'd level off the doors.
After graduation, all his friends would move away.
Johnny had a plan in mind, he knew he had to stay.
He had vivid visions of a villa he could build.
If it all went smoothly, all his dreams would be fulfilled.
Checking out construction sites, he asked for extra wood,
Pieces much too small to do a builder any good.
Lugging lumber to the woods, he scattered it about,
Then he drew a blueprint so he wouldn't have a doubt.
Johnny's building grew as sawdust flew into the air,
Ev'ry shim and splinter centered with exquisite care.
Laboring without a rest inside the lonely forest,
Sounds of saws combined with songs of crickets as they chorused.
Johnny crafted sculptures to accentuate the house,
Some as large as elephants, some wee as a mouse.
Ninety-seven statues stood and guarded Johnny's home,
Here, a deer with ample antlers, there, a grumpy gnome.
Finally, completion! Johnny set his saw aside,
Stepping back to check his work and swelling up with pride.
There's one thing that set this domicile apart from yours.
There was not a single lock installed in any doors.
Johnny left it open. It was lodging for the lost,
Shelter for the helpless ones succumbing to the frost.
If you stray the path, if you have left the trail behind you,
Go to Johnny's place to rest, and somebody will find you.
Scheme | AA BB CC DD EE FF GG HH II JJ XA KK LL MM XE NN OO |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011010011 10110010101 1011101011101 11101010111 111011010001 1011100110111 1011111010111 1010101011101 10110101111101 11010110101 100101111101 1010101111111 1110101010111 1111101111101 1010101111101 1011111010101 1010101110101 111011110101 101011110101 110101011001 10001010101010 1110111110111 1010101010001 111110011101 101011010101 1011101010101 1000101011101 1011111010111 11111110111 1110101010101 1011101110101 1010101010101 11101111101011 1110111010111 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,848 |
Words | 375 |
Sentences | 24 |
Stanzas | 17 |
Stanza Lengths | 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 |
Lines Amount | 34 |
Letters per line (avg) | 42 |
Words per line (avg) | 10 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 85 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 19 |
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Johnny’s Place" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/170586/johnny%E2%80%99s-place>.
Discuss this Mike Grimes 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