Analysis of Sleep Paralysis
You. You again.
Why do you come for me?
Have you not taken everything?
Why do you come at night? When I'm weak.
I can't move.
You pin me down with the mandibles of this nightmare.
I'm trapped. Unable to move any part of my body. Even my finger. Just an inch.
Yet you let me breathe. Keeping me alive. Toying with me.
I'm a mouse. I'm clasped in your talons.
I know you're a witch. I sense it.
Like a child sensing it's mother.
But I can't see you. Shadows are hard to see in the dark.
Why do you just stare??? I feel you staring.
Come on then! Have me! Better to be taken quickly than to stay like this!
Doctors say I should just go back to sleep. That you won't really hurt me.
But what if you take me then?
I'd rather be alert when you make your move.
I want to know it's coming.
I am tired now...
Fear has burned all that I am. I have just my thoughts left.
You may have taken everything, but I still have my mind!
I scream. Murmurs of a silent syllable. Sirens to save my soul. In my head.
No one can hear.
I'm helpless. I'm yours. I have nothing left.
I sleep.
Scheme | ABCX DXXBX XXX CX BADC XEXXXEX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1101 111111 1111010 111111111 111 1111101111 1101011101111010110111 11111101011011 101110110 11101111 10110110 1111111111001 1111111110 111111011101011111 10111111111111011 1111111 11010111111 1111110 11101 1111111111111 1111010111111 11101010100101111011 1111 1101111101 11 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 1,080 |
Words | 245 |
Sentences | 45 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 5, 3, 2, 4, 7 |
Lines Amount | 25 |
Letters per line (avg) | 31 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 131 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 36 |
About this poem
When I was younger, I suffered from sleep paralysis. It was a terrifying experience which I've tried to capture in this poem. The feeling of something over you, watching you, holding you down... it's extreme.
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"Sleep Paralysis" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/179823/sleep-paralysis>.
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