Monologue Of An American Poet Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQJRS LTUVWKXYZA2B2YC2DMD2 E2A2F2G2H2G2I2I2I2JJ 2K2JG2G2L2M2N2G2O2P2 OQ2ZR2S2WB2T2B2FG2A2 A2U2V2W2X2Y2G2YZ2YA3 B3 C3| A loved one leaves | A |
| like air from the lungs | B |
| vapor amid the final dry snowflakes | C |
| the black branches clicking and sagging | D |
| with ice | E |
| She can't be breathed back in | F |
| A mere gesture I abrade my cheek | G |
| on the rust scaled trunk | H |
| of a drain pipe | I |
| To no purpose I weep | J |
| She departs | K |
| Friends depart | L |
| fellow sufferers | M |
| peers | N |
| as from the field of the young | O |
| we are led toward separate pens | P |
| away from the once shared milk | Q |
| In vain like an unweaned whelp | J |
| I whine for friends' | R |
| they don't come back | S |
| Hopes depart | L |
| such darling ladies | T |
| whom I use on such useless occasions | U |
| Only their petticoats stay in my hands | V |
| hopes are meant to be held for a moment | W |
| Certitude departs | K |
| I remember I swore a sacred oath | X |
| to break my stupid head against the wall | Y |
| or the wall with my stupid head | Z |
| My head is scratched true | A2 |
| but unbroken | B2 |
| And what of the wall | Y |
| The bastard smirks | C2 |
| on its blankness they are blandly changing | D |
| the posters | M |
| the portraits of heroes | D2 |
| Certitude | E2 |
| where are you | A2 |
| New York | F2 |
| your dark sky circles above me | G2 |
| like a hawk | H2 |
| America believe me | G2 |
| I'm finished | I2 |
| I'm finished | I2 |
| finished | I2 |
| I am a ship | J |
| where all the cabins smell of doom | J2 |
| and rats leap in terror from the clammy deck | K2 |
| Hey seagulls don't weep | J |
| Don't don't pity me | G2 |
| My lovely leggy guests abandon me | G2 |
| They take their places as prescribed | L2 |
| the first in the lifeboat | M2 |
| Farewell my mistresses | N2 |
| My apple cheeked cadets abandon me | G2 |
| They want to live | O2 |
| Fair enough | P2 |
| they are still young | O |
| Farewell lads | Q2 |
| Row ahead | Z |
| You are men | R2 |
| Now the inane rumble of the engine shuts down | S2 |
| Only talent | W |
| like a drunken unshaven captain | B2 |
| stands somberly on the bridge | T2 |
| The captain is the captain | B2 |
| But he too tears smearing his windburned skin | F |
| he too abandons me | G2 |
| he too | A2 |
| he too | A2 |
| Hey lifeboats stand away | U2 |
| A ship when it sinks | V2 |
| makes a malestrom around it | W2 |
| To be totally alone | X2 |
| hurts worse than a knife | Y2 |
| but I won't suck anyone down with me | G2 |
| I forgive you all | Y |
| Robed in death's foam | Z2 |
| I bequeath it to you to demolish that bastardly wall | Y |
| My trumpet juts from the marble swirls | A3 |
| comrades battle on | B3 |
| - | |
| - | |
| Translated by John Updike | C3 |
Yevgeny Yevtushenko
(1)
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About Monologue Of An American Poet
Monologue Of An American Poet is a poem by Yevgeny Yevtushenko. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.