Analysis of Identity crisis
Sara Tolliday 1986 (Melrose, MA)
If you’re the moon,
Then I’m the tide.
Roaring and raging with your pull
Slowing and swaying with your release
I remain still before the storm
Reluctantly waiting for the darkness
Wondering how long I’ll be at peace
If you’re the wind,
Then I’m the sail.
Swelling and submitting with your gust
Reliant on your blows for direction
Maneuvering my position to catch your every breath
I don’t know where this path leads
Or how long you’ll keep me in flection
If you’re the rain,
Then I’m the willow.
Rooted deeply as your wrath soaks my every branch, bud, and blossom
Absorbing your heaviness
Drowning while you empty
Dependent on your fall but afraid of my own
Unsure when you’ll return
It’s been weeks since your last visit.
I swallow all I can.
Sometimes I confuse thirst with yearn
If you’re the fire,
Then I’m the coals.
Trapped beneath your fury
Holding your heat while you’re free to sparkle and waver
I lie awake after you sleep
In pieces
Reliving each poke and prod,
Until the night’s silence deafens
Cold darkness becomes me when your warmth ceases
I’m tired of being the thing you control
Morphing to fit
And weathering your storms
Stuck at arms length by your push and pull
In a perpetual orbit of unpredictability and disappointment
This path is not kind
It’s boring
Relentless
And it’s not mine
On my own I’m a force
I was too blind to see
I never needed your direction
Finally far from your reach
I have my own gravity
My feet have touched ground, but the road ahead is long
The work has just begun
The feat will be worth the fight, though
Because now that your storm is over,
I realize—I’ve always been the Sun
Scheme | AXBCXXC DXXEXXA XFXCGXHXXH IXGIXXXCX XXXBXDXXX XGEXG XEFIE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101 1101 10010111 100101101 10110101 0100101010 100111111 1101 1101 100010111 0101111010 010010101111001 1111111 11111101 1101 1101 10101111110011010 01011 101110 010111101111 011101 11111110 110111 01101111 11010 1101 101110 1011111110010 11011011 010 0101101 0101101 11001111110 11011001101 1011 010011 111111101 000100101001000010 11111 110 010 0111 111101 111111 110101010 1001111 1111100 111111010111 011101 01111011 011111110 11011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,686 |
Words | 326 |
Sentences | 7 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 10, 9, 9, 5, 5 |
Lines Amount | 52 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 184 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 42 |
About this poem
In the desperation of trying to figure out who we are, we mistakenly attach our purpose to other people. Our behavior, thoughts, and feelings become tied to them. We give our power away. Take your power back and you will find clarity.
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Written on October 19, 2023
Submitted by Sara.tolliday86 on October 19, 2023
Modified by Sara.tolliday86 on November 08, 2023
- 1:37 min read
- 107 Views
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"Identity crisis" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/172958/identity-crisis>.
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