Analysis of On My Terms
Lawrence S. Pertillar 1947 (Connecticut)
On my terms I have earned,
The me I have grown to bloom and be.
With directions to take them,
Whether positive or negative.
Criticisms I have heard to hear,
And obstacles on my path to place.
Made me more grateful.
I did not run.
Or allow myself to be chased away.
From who I am to have bloom to be.
And at first this was not easy.
As I grew older no hand did I see.
Reaching out to me as if to assist,
A path that had attracted my steps.
Nor did I expect to accept,
My journey ahead,
Would be smoothly paved.
Since I had not been a follower.
And there were times I faced,
Made me scared to death.
Today, I have no regrets.
No sorrows borrowed from anyone to share.
Anywhere I chose to go,
I knew and for what reasons...
Why I was there.
To adventure and explore.
With a learning on my own to do.
Although, I will admit,
Feeling myself to be a fool at times.
To believe from others I had lost my mind.
However,
These days to have aged to look back...
And reminisce on risks and chances,
I took in my youth to never forget.
No one can tell me,
Just how blessed I am to be.
No!
Because they were not there nor around.
To witness and see me on my knees.
Pleading to God to free me from stupidity.
And not a word from God did I hear heard,
In my ears.
But in my head.
'If I believed you to be stupid.
Why would I choose,
To be around fools like you?
I AM THAT I AM, ALMIGHTY GOD.
Get up off your knees and keep moving.
And please...
Don't abandon your faith to doubt,
Or question what it is I do.
Because of a simple test,
You allow to bring you to tears.
Boo hoo hoo.
The woe, pain and agony.'
It is chilling to discover,
How God can be.
So direct and without a sign of empathy.
'Now...
Is that self pity over?
Get up off your knees.
And stop acting as if you have been left alone.
You are not the subject of MY wrath.
Although who knows,
When that time comes.
And My Mind has changed.
Hypocrites and those pretentious,
Have yet to learn that lesson.'
Quick.
And...
Up off my knees I got to know,
God works in mysterious ways.
And I have aged,
To witness that to be a fact.
With a putting my existence in perspective.
And glad to have been,
Just a little apprehensive.
But not completely smothered in doubt!
Tossed about.
Done to fear the living my life to be me!
Scheme | XAXBXXXCXA AAXXXDXEXX XFGXFXHXXX EXXXAAGXIA XXD XXH XXIJHXXHA EAA XEIXXXXXXC XXGXXXBXB JJA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (30%) Tetractys (25%) |
Metre | 111111 011111101 1010111 101001100 10011111 010011111 11110 1111 101111101 111111111 01111110 1111011111 1011111101 011101011 11101101 11001 11101 111110100 010111 11111 0111101 110111011 101111 1101110 1111 1010001 101011111 11101 101110111 10111011111 10 11111111 00111010 1101111001 11111 1111111 1 011011101 110011111 101111110100 0101111111 011 1011 110111110 1111 1101111 111110101 111110110 01 10101111 11011111 0110101 10111111 111 0110100 11101010 1111 101001011100 1 1111010 11111 011011111101 111001111 111 1111 01111 1001010 1111110 1 0 11111111 11001001 0111 11011101 101010100010 01111 1010010 110101001 101 11101011111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,271 |
Words | 543 |
Sentences | 58 |
Stanzas | 11 |
Stanza Lengths | 10, 10, 10, 10, 3, 3, 9, 3, 10, 9, 3 |
Lines Amount | 80 |
Letters per line (avg) | 21 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 155 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 41 |
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"On My Terms" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/161815/on-my-terms>.
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