Analysis of Ribbons
James Gustafson 1960 (New York)
Having untied a bow, I am left with a ribbon.
What it was and what it is will always be the same.
Something becomes another,
when it is twisted and knotted.
Until it is unraveled, it will never change
Sometimes the ribbon is stuck in a bow
and is in need of help.
Unwinding is always a scary thing.
Safe as a bow, it stays the same,
never experiencing the thrill of being unraveled.
Knotted and twisted it remains.
Reaching out for the breeze, the bow
tries to unwind.
But deep inside, the twist is tight.
The bow is pretty,
and still the knot remains.
Scheme | XAXXX BXXAX CBXXXC |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1001011111010 111011111101 1001010 11110010 011101011101 0101011001 010111 010110101 11011101 100100001110010 10010101 10110101 1101 11010111 01110 010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 601 |
Words | 121 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 6 |
Lines Amount | 16 |
Letters per line (avg) | 27 |
Words per line (avg) | 7 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 143 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 35 |
About this poem
I wanted to express the feeling of change being scary and exciting at the same time.
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"Ribbons" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/180609/ribbons>.
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