Analysis of Too Long Black
Lawrence S. Pertillar 1947 (Connecticut)
I've been black too long,
To know this.
It noticed.
I've been black too long to know it,
Noticed.
Nothing about me is duplicated equally.
And nothing about my identity,
I attempt to hide not to see.
My walk,
I know it noticed.
And the way I talk is noticed.
I express from my point of view,
To address my inherited ancestry.
I'm not you.
You're not me.
Why would you believe,
It is you I wish to be?
That is not noticed.
Not from me.
To know this.
Why would you believe,
From your point of view...
I see it like you do.
That is not noticed.
Not from me.
To know this.
I've been black too long to know,
It noticed.
Nothing about my identity,
I attempt to hide not to see.
I am not you.
You are not me.
Why would you believe,
It is you I want to be?
I've been black too long to have it noticed.
And too black I have been,
Since I was born.
To notice.
And to know it,
Day and night long!
| Scheme | aBC dc eeE xcc fefeGe CEB GffCEB xC eEfeGecxxxda |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | Tetractys (38%) |
| Metre | 11111 111 110 11111111 10 100111100100 0100110100 10111111 11 11110 00111110 10111111 1110100100 111 111 11101 1111111 11110 111 111 11101 11111 111111 11110 111 111 1111111 110 100110100 10111111 1111 1111 11101 1111111 1111111110 011111 1111 110 0111 1011 |
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 892 |
| Words | 229 |
| Sentences | 28 |
| Stanzas | 9 |
| Stanza Lengths | 3, 2, 3, 3, 6, 3, 6, 2, 12 |
| Lines Amount | 40 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 16 |
| Words per line (avg) | 5 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 73 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 20 |
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"Too Long Black" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/164107/too-long-black>.
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