Analysis of I am Legion

Brady Bowen 1973 (Louisiana)



There is darkness in me slithering
coiling into circly-shapes and shining
inky black and sapphires glinting
like the oiled mechanisms of war machines
eager and resplendent with chromed fangs that drip the venom of dissolution.

Among my insides is a lightness
not soft but bright with acceptance
and the glowing embers of love
that is ready to flash into flame
an inferno of protection-flowers
that welcomes the hurt of everyperson.

Hidden in the heart of the mountainous me
is fear like lemon-lightning blazing
the sunflowers of flight
there is not much to it now
what more can I be shown?

Crouched and wound like a spirit-spring
is the brutish wild thing of ambition
the killing thing; the cold predation of men
joyless as it poises on the lip of my spirit
watching mute and maudlin for blood-jewels

Lying languidly in the grass of imagination
is that prettiest of seraphs, a ribbon-winged,
silver-haired seductress of the mind
Creativity, we name her; but she is goddess
over this place, she is the midwife of the mind.

Sitting on a low stool in the corner of strife
is the battered, crushknuckled brawling one
retired, put away, forlorn and forgotten
his days numbered from the first breath of
new spring, when steps counted overjoyed.

Swinging among these limbs of cognition
is the base and common one; called WANT
Spoken sharply always; driven by animus
to complete tasks high and low
his feeling lasts a tick and tock, and gone.

Standing armored like steel beetles
is the defender of the faithful and less
multitudes of gouged-in eyes searching
finding the gemstone-hearts of those
who require a defender of no reknown.

Crushing hope with her heart-hammer
is my mistress of propaganda
you cannot, must not, will not should not
do the thing that enlivens us
please, as she swings again, let us sleep.

These are the secret stars, the show-friends
with hands scrabbling for the tiller of ME
what star will be their guide? What argent
blazer seen through the sextant of want?
I am no solitudinous thing. I am Legion.


Scheme AAAXB CXDXXB EAXXX ABXXF BXGCG XBBDX BHCXX FXAXB XXXCX XEXHB
Poetic Form
Metre 111001100 10111010 101010010 1011001101 100010111110101010 011011010 11111010 00101011 111011011 1010101010 1100111 10001101001 111101010 01011 1111111 111111 10110101 1010111010 01010101011 11111011110 1010101110 10100110010 11100110101 1011101 010011011110 10111101101 101011001011 10101101 01101010010 111010111 11111001 1001111010 101010111 10101101100 1011101 1101010101 10101110 10010101001 10110110 1001111 1100010111 10110110 11101010 110111111 10110101 111101111 110101011 111101011 111111110 10110111 111111110
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 2,067
Words 393
Sentences 13
Stanzas 10
Stanza Lengths 5, 6, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Lines Amount 51
Letters per line (avg) 32
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 163
Words per stanza (avg) 35

About this poem

Self-reflection during a time when my self-concept was being put in a box by a partner who simply needed a villain until it momentarily turned me into an *actual* villain.

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Written on February 22, 2022

Submitted by BradyB999 on March 10, 2022

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:58 min read
146

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