#1
Nationality:
Themes:
Emotions:
Topics:
Form:
Genre:
support@poemanalysis.com
Poem Solutions Limited
Company no: 10883994
United Kingdom
Prose poetry combines the rhythm, imagery, and figurative language of poetry with the narrative flow and paragraph structure of prose. Unlike most poetry, it doesn’t rely on line breaks or consistent patterns of rhythm or rhyme.
Instead, a prose poem is a block of text that can unfold over several paragraphs, but that uses poetic techniques like metaphor, imagery, and emotional intensity to create a sense of artistry and lyricism. Prose poetry can capture a moment, paint a scene, or present a striking image or idea.
This form challenges the traditional boundaries between prose and poetry, offering a unique space for creative expression.
Yusef Komunyakaa’s prose poetry ‘Nude Interrogation’ captures the struggles of Vietnam War veterans after their return home.
Did you kill anyone over there? Angelica shifts her gaze from Janis Joplin poster to the Jimi Hendrix, lifting the pale muslin blouse over her head.
‘Invisible Fish’ by Joy Harjo is a beautiful poem that illustrates time’s oppressive persistence on both the natural world and humankind.
Invisible fish swim this ghost ocean now described by waves of sand, by water-worn rock. Soon the fish will learn to walk.
‘Be Drunk’ by Charles Baudelaire is a stirring poem meant to incite the reader to passion about life.
You have to be always drunk. That's all there is to it—it's the only way. So as not to feel the horrible burden of time that breaks your back and bends you to the earth, you have to be continually drunk.
‘Surplus Value’ is a tragic poem that gives the first-hand experience of a man’s losses during economic decline in the USA.
My Michigan brother-in-law was a tool and die guy,
A machinist, fabricating parts in shops supplying Big Three
Auto makers. A bantam with thick fingers, scarred hands
‘Don’t Bother the Earth Spirit’ by Joy Harjo is a heavily symbolic poem that personifies nature as a mesmerizing storyteller.
Don’t bother the earth spirit who lives here. She is working on a story. It is the oldest story in the world and it is delicate, changing.
‘dear white america’ by Danez Smith is a fearless cry for racial equality, exploring concerns of injustice as well as the unwavering hope for a just society for everyone.
i’ve left Earth in search of darker planets, a solar system revolving too near a black hole. i’ve left in search of a new God. i do not trust the God you have given us. my grandmother’s hallelujah is
‘Rosa Parks’ by Nikki Giovanni is a poem about activism and the importance of remembering important moments in African American history. The poem pays tribute to the heroic actions of the Pullman Porters who spearheaded the civil rights movement and forever changed history for the African American community.
This is for the Pullman Porters who organized when people said
they couldn’t. And carried the Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago
Defender to the Black Americans in the South so they would
‘I Was Sitting in McSorley’s’ is a prose poem in which Cummings describes his experiences sitting inside one of his favorite watering holes, contrasting the world outside with the world within.
i was sitting in mcsorley's. outside it was New York and beautifully snowing.
Inside snug and evil. the slobbering walls filthily push witless
creases of screaming warmth chuck pillows are noise funnily swallows
‘Letter to a Photojournalist Going In’ explores war reporting’s toll, contrasting brutal realities with introspective questions on memory, ethics, and purpose.
You go to the pain. City after city. Borders
Where they peer into your eyes as if to erase you.You go by bus or truck, days at a time, just taking it
When they throw you in a room or kick you at your gut.
‘Letter Home’ by Natasha Trethewey is a poem in which the narrator writes home about their struggles looking for work.
Four weeks have passed since I left, and still
I must write to you of no work. I’ve worn down
the soles and walked through the tightness
of my new shoes calling upon the merchants,
‘On Joy and Sorrow’ by Kahlil Gibran is a meditative, insightful, poetic essay that makes interesting implications about the inseparable emotions of joy and sorrow.
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
support@poemanalysis.com
Poem Solutions Limited
Company no: 10883994
United Kingdom
Access Poetry PDF Guides
for this Poem
Complete Poetry PDF Guide
Perfect Offline Resource
Covers Everything You Need to Know
One-pager 'snapshot' PDF
Great Offline Resource
Gateway to deeper understanding
870+ Reviews
