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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Submitted by James12 on January 28, 2024

36 sec read
49

James Gustafson

A man born in the 60's and grew up in the 70"s. more…

All James Gustafson poems | James Gustafson Books

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