Analysis of The Race Card
Lawrence S. Pertillar 1947 (Connecticut)
British.
Irish.
Italian.
Jewish.
And other nondescript to identify,
To claim and maintain...
Separate ethnicities.
In these United States of America.
Home of the brave; Land of the 'wannabees'.
All immigrants to be perceived,
By those born Native Americans to be.
And yet...
The moment anyone black of skin mentions,
How proud they are...
Of their heritage and ancestry.
Up turned are noses.
Shut close goes the minds.
This gives reason for someone to say,
Those obviously descendents of Africans.
Are only doing it to use the race card.
A race card to use.
To validate the playing,
The same old and tired game.
With this done to do,
Knowing they possess a joker or two.
Or attention to get.
Allowing them to continue,
To remain staying to play.
Although believe to be fools.
Used to trick and dupe on a daily basis.
Since no one has denied or refused,
Anyone who has BOTH JOKERS removed.
Or thought them incapable to learn,
With a few tricks of their own.
And if they sat long enough,
In this same tired game to play.
Maybe.
Just maybe...
Others who believe,
They still have more tricks up their sleeves.
Will one day be convinced.
They need to learn and be taught,
Who in the game played...
Does it with common sense.
With a bit of finesse.
Yes.
And can also teach,
Who amongst them...
They should have never taken for granted.
'Where did you say,
Your ancestors are from, again?'
'I didn't.
And what difference does it make?
Would that make me less,
Than the born American citizen I am?
'No.
Do not label me a racist.
Afterall...
My mail is delivered by someone black.
But you play the game very well.'
'Oh?
What would you rather believe?
I awakened yesterday.
And had an array of options to pick from?
With a doing to choose only one.
Leaving me feeling pleased.
This may or may not,
Be difficult for you to accept.
But I knew before you did,
The obvious to expect.'
Scheme | AABAXXCXCXD ECXDCCCCXCXXFFEFGCC XXXXXGDDHCXXXCCCXXX CX XXCX IXXXX IHGXBXXXXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Tetractys (36%) Etheree (27%) |
Metre | 10 10 010 10 0101011010 11001 101 01010110100 110111010 11001101 11110010011 01 0101011110 1111 111000100 11110 11101 11101111 110000101100 11010111011 01111 1100010 0110101 11111 1010101011 101011 01011010 1011011 101111 11101101010 111101101 101111001 111010011 1011111 0111101 01110111 10 110 10101 11111111 111101 1111011 10011 111101 101101 1 01101 1011 1111010110 1111 1101101 110 01100111 11111 101010010011 1 11101010 10 111010111 11101101 1 1111001 101010 01101110111 101011101 101101 11111 110011101 1110111 0100101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,876 |
Words | 415 |
Sentences | 54 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 11, 19, 19, 2, 4, 5, 10 |
Lines Amount | 70 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 205 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 48 |
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Written on September 11, 2022
Submitted by lpahtillah on September 11, 2022
Modified by lpahtillah on September 11, 2022
- 2:04 min read
- 5 Views
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"The Race Card" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/137448/the-race-card>.
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