Analysis of On the Steps of Another Country
On the Steps of Another Country
Dads company offered him a Directors position in Portland Main.
He accepted and we moved from our Yorkshire home to Kennedy Park, East Bayside.
Joey Sullivan was the first American I recall meeting.
He was tall with tidy dark hair and teeth like stars.
I imagine he was in movies,
in fact, he was a lawyer, I found out later.
He was lowering the American flag that hung from a pole wedged diagonally into the main porch timber.
“It’s dirty,” he said, observing my
puzzled expression.
“I’m replacing it with another.
You’re from the UK right?” He asked.
I nodded.
“You can hang a Union Jack, if you like, you just need to hang it to the left of the Stars and Stripes.”
I nodded again, wondering what a ‘Union Jack’ was.
He then saluted the flag and asked me if I wanted some lemonade or tea.
I shook my head.
“Why do you hang flags from your houses?” I asked,
Looking down the street,
which I assume was being prepared for some celebration.
“It’s called patriotism,” he said, introducing himself as Joey.
“I’m Frank,” says I, frowning and thinking Joey must have a condition.
“Patriotism, is the love of your country,” he said, having read my confusion at the word.
“Do you not love your country?”
He added.
I shrugged.
In all honesty, I wasn’t sure.
I mean, I supported England,
when we played in the Euros…
But love?
I loved my parents, nothing more.
“When you go to school, you’ll have to pledge allegiance to the flag.
You’ll learn the Star-Spangled Banner, soon, you’ll love this land,” he said.
“Although, you can never be her President, you have to be born here for that. Like your King, being born in the UK,” he added.
I didn’t understand this man.
I guessed he had no children of his own. As it turned out, I was right.
When my parents asked who I had been talking to, outside;
I told them.
“Ah, Mr Sullivan, he’s nice isn’t he Frank, don’t you think so?”
I nodded.
That was the first time I had ever lied to my dad. I think I just wanted to please him by agreeing.
Since then, I have learned a great deal about inclusion.
About separatism and acceptance.
About prejudice and soft discrimination.
About love. Fear. Hypocrisy, and fairness.
Yet, somehow, everything I have learned remains an echo of that childhood experience on the steps of another country.
Scheme | a xb cxxd dxed fGxxa hfxeae xagxxxxxx xhg xxbxxGc exexa |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101101010 110010100100100101 10100111101011100111 1010010101001110 111110110111 101011010 011101011110 11100001001111011010000101110 110110101 10010 101011010 1101111 110 111010111111111110110101 11001100101011 11010010111110110111 1111 11111111011 10101 11011100111010 1110001101001110 11111001010110010 10001011110111011010101 1111110 110 11 01100111 11101010 111001 11 11110101 111111111010101 110110101111111 11110101011111111111101001110 110111 11111101111111111 11101111110111 111 110100111111111 110 11011111011111111101111010 1111101101010 0110000010 01100010010 01110100010 1110111011101110100101101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 2,402 |
Words | 481 |
Sentences | 46 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 6, 9, 3, 7, 5 |
Lines Amount | 46 |
Letters per line (avg) | 38 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 176 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 42 |
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"On the Steps of Another Country" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 30 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/170721/on-the-steps-of-another-country>.
Discuss this Dennis Michael McNamara 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