Analysis of Death of a Pear Tree
The pear tree rotted for many years,
its trunk covered in soft spots of sickness before at last bending in a final exhale.
I cut it at the blackened roots before it fell,
while it still had green in its leaves.
The first bright green pear it ever gifted us,
fresh and sour and just right,
we split in four tiny pieces;
The first fruit you ever had
was picked from those enormous branches.
In the summer it shielded us from the sun
and when the deep white winters came
we built huts under its canopy.
Every day for long years
our pear tree kept watch.
I never thought about the tree dying.
After all it's only wood and fruit,
just a piece of scenery.
The tree was nameless, faceless.
It had no tongue for words.
Yet when the pear tree fell I cried.
Even knowing it had to go,
I felt it in my breastbone when it tumbled.
That sort of deep rot can't be fixed
But we know better than most:
You can still grieve despite the knowing.
Scheme | AXXX BXCXC XXDAX EXDBX XXXXX E |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (20%) |
Metre | 011101101 1110011110011110001001 111101010111 11111011 01111110101 1010011 11011010 0111101 111101010 00101101101 01011101 111101100 1001111 101111 1101010110 101110101 1011100 0111010 111111 11011111 10101111 1110111110 11111111 1111011 111101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 939 |
Words | 207 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 1 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 121 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 30 |
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Death of a Pear Tree" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/172861/death-of-a-pear-tree>.
Discuss this Josefine Berring 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