Analysis of Tell Me Why I Shouldn't Cry
They say that men should never cry. It shows a weaker side.
Throughout my life, I’ve always found that tears are hard to hide.
There’s so much evil in this world, it makes me wonder why.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to cope. Tell me why I shouldn’t cry.
A movie called “Old Yeller” was a show I went to see.
It’s about a loyal faithful dog as loving as could be.
All was fine until the end when Yeller had to die.
I was only ten years old. Tell me why I shouldn’t cry.
The first time that I fell in love, my world was filled with joy.
What I felt was new to who was then a teenage boy.
It would all come crashing down when she left me high and dry.
I never felt such pain before. Tell me why I shouldn’t cry.
My grandma was a joy to me. She always made me smile.
She had a cabin way up north where I would stay a while.
When I heard she’d passed away, my memories all flew by.
I was by then a young man. Tell me why I shouldn’t cry.
As a boy, I played with guns. I learned to shoot and aim.
But then I went to Vietnam, and it was NOT a game!
I saw good men give up their lives and pass without a sigh.
A sergeant must be strong and true. Tell me why I shouldn’t cry.
My mother always stood by me and tried to keep me strong.
She helped me through the times when we knew that I was wrong.
She passed so fast I never had the chance to say goodbye.
I hope you’ll see I’m still a man. Let’s pretend I didn’t cry.
Scheme | AABB CCBB DDBB EEBB FFBB GGBB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain |
Metre | 11111101110101 0111111111111 11110011111101 01111111111111 0101111011111 101010101110111 111010111111 1110111111111 01111101111111 111111111011 11111011111101 11011101111111 1101011111111 11010111111101 11111011100111 1111011111111 1011111111101 1111101011101 11111111010101 01011101111111 1101111011111 1111011111111 1111110101111 11111101101111 |
Closest metre | Iambic heptameter |
Characters | 1,470 |
Words | 324 |
Sentences | 33 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 24 |
Letters per line (avg) | 44 |
Words per line (avg) | 12 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 176 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 49 |
About this poem
I probably just want to dispel the myth that men shouldn't cry. I always believed that you prove how much you care about someone if you can cry in front of them. There's simply no shame in showing emotion. This poem is a snapshot of my life.
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"Tell Me Why I Shouldn't Cry" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/168403/tell-me-why-i-shouldn%27t-cry>.
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