Analysis of Repent
Lawrence S. Pertillar 1947 (Connecticut)
Feeling regret.
Remorse and sorrow.
With a hoping comes a tomorrow,
To shake awake a mind seeking...
A nightmare to live too long being chased,
By demons smiling.
Although evil is displayed.
On faces masquerading to fake,
Themselves to be angels.
As they begin to descend with wings,
Of vultures to notice...
Them attacking the innocent.
To perceive them docile and weak.
Meek!
And easy to defeat!
No one screams.
No one runs.
No one seems to fear this doing done.
To expect it a test of their faith.
And...
It was just that.
An illusion to fear and of it threatened.
Until suddenly,
A nightmare to believe a dreaming of it.
With smiling demons descending from above,
Appearing to be vultures.
Became the meek.
They became docile.
Weakened.
Expressing sorrow.
Wishing to share their anguish and grief.
As if too real this same nightmare to dream it,
Awakened them...
To see a truth they denied themselves to be.
Creatures evil.
Thoughtless.
Without hearts or souls to pretend them had.
Leaving them to sob uncontrollably.
Leaving them grieving.
Without empathy to receive.
In their needing of it bad.
Left abandoned.
When it heard to hear them confess,
An evilness not to suspect but known!
'What is this madness?
What is this nightmare to dream it?'
It's just a fable.
Pull yourself together.
A story told to me to believe it.
But...
I find it to be an incredible coincidence,
How you are able to identify...
Emotionally.
As if this fable has awakened,
A connection you deeply feel too real.
From a past perhaps your ancestors had?
Maybe?
Who knows what it is we all share.
To deceive, lie about and attempt to deny.
'I'm not black.
I wouldn't do that to my own people.
I've been born of mongrel heritage.'
Hey, hey, HEY!
Relax.
Calm down.
It's okay.
Be proud to be...
Whatever it is today you claim you are.
Yesterday you were Asian.
Two weeks before that you were Latino.
And I heard you tell someone,
Your mother was Jamaican and your father?
Native American Indian,
Black and Puerto Rican!
You are a mutt.
'I said...
Mongrel,
Damnit!'
Oh...
Yes.
The rarest of all breeds.
It's alright.
Although...
I will say this.
Someone in your background,
Donated their D.N.A.
And everything else they could.
To bestow you with that rhythm you inherited.
'I will not allow myself to be appalled.
Or patiently tolerate,
In an indulging of your attempts to harass me.'
Oh.
So now you are British!?
You're right.
You represent the entire United Nations!
'What started this?'
Your feelings of guilt.
And a desperate need to repent.
For denying to be who you are.
Whenever it is convenient,
To pass as an emancipating slave owner!
You heard me!
Scheme | abbcxcxxx xdeffx xghxix i jkxxflibx kxjldmjcxm inx dk lokpxqjixmjxq xlx rxxrjshbhohhp xja Bnx tbuxrxx xxj Bxtg u xx seo j |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1001 01010 10101001 11010110 011111101 11010 110101 11001011 011110 110110111 110110 10100100 10111001 1 010101 111 111 111111101 101101111 0 1111 10101101110 01100 0110101011 11010010101 0101110 0101 10110 10 01010 101111001 1111111111 0101 11011010111 1010 10 0111110111 101110100 10110 01100101 0110111 1010 11111101 11110111 11110 1111111 11010 101010 0101111011 1 11111101000100 111101010 0100 111101010 0010110111 101011101 10 11111111 101101001101 111 1101111110 11111100 111 01 11 11 1111 1011011111 101010 1101110010 011111 11010100110 100100100 10110 1101 11 1 1 1 1 010111 11 1 1111 1011 10111 010111 1011111010100 1110111101 110010 0101011011011 1 111110 11 101001001010 1101 11011 00101101 101011111 01011010 11110100110 111 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 2,679 |
Words | 591 |
Sentences | 91 |
Stanzas | 20 |
Stanza Lengths | 9, 6, 6, 1, 9, 10, 3, 2, 13, 3, 13, 3, 3, 7, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 1 |
Lines Amount | 102 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 101 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Repent" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/167412/repent>.
Discuss this Lawrence S. Pertillar poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In