Analysis of La ventille oh cecelia
Len Lewis 1943 (Port of Spain, Trinidad)
Above the deep water harbour gazing
Port-of-Spain bustling at her feet.
La Ventille's brief is quite amazing
With huddled dwellings quaint and neat.
Drive up the twisted gradient sloping
About thirty-six geomet degrees.
The wide-eyed visitor goes up hoping
To enjoy the gentle breeze.
In cricket's island territories
The command of such a view
Is held by mortgage dignitaries;
Not simple folks like me or you.
La Ventille is indeed attractive
From its humble point of view;
Not hoity toity interactive
For fez children who are new.
This hilly upper-city starter
For Caribbean immigrants;
Who come by sloop to hawk and barter
But take up dual residence.
Sometimes it's tuneful hyperactive
While Desperadoes basemen grumble.
At other times it's counteractive
When young-to-die gang members crumble.
La Ventille's yearly days of reverence
Bring hooded pilgrims to the shrine.
From wine and sin some seek repentance
Through Lady Fatima's holy sign.
Their contrite rosaries and novenas
Could spare misguided wayward thugs
From police summons or subpoenas,
Or temper's high strung rock or slug.
First generation head-tied hawkers'
Young offspring really cannot cope
With gold-toothed dealers and fast talkers.
At risk they venture out on hope.
Their struggle after such arrival
Is really pitted against time,
'til seeking guaranteed survival
tempts them slowly into crime,
The long time scores of law-abiders
Who live on tamboo-bamboo hill,
Engulfed by old and new free-riders
Are gently law-abiding still.
They need expert communicators
To remind us they exist.
T'would help La Ventille's given image;
And give Ma. Placide's hill some twist.
Scheme | A B A B A C A C C D C D E D E D F X F G E H D H G I G I C X X X J K J K H L H L C M J M J N X N |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101101010 111100101 11111010 11010101 1101010010 01101101 0111001110 1010101 01010100 0011101 11110100 11011111 11101010 1110111 11010010 1110111 110101010 10100100 111111010 11110100 01110010 1010110 110111 111111010 111011100 11010101 110111010 1101101 10110001 11010101 101101010 1111111 10101110 1110101 111100110 11110111 110101010 11010011 11001010 1110011 0111111 1111011 011101110 11010101 111001000 1011101 111111010 0111111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,590 |
Words | 255 |
Sentences | 19 |
Stanzas | 48 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 28 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 28 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 5 |
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Submitted on May 09, 2012
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:19 min read
- 1 View
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"La ventille oh cecelia" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/76330/la-ventille-oh-cecelia>.
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