"One Life" is a poem written by the artist know as The Last Emperor, an African American musician who was born and raised in the city of New York. The Last Emperor uses very poetic verses in his music to convey a particular message to his audience. Unlike many hip-hop musicians, The Last Emperor refuses to use vulgar language in his music. He is trying to break the stereotypes that come along with rap or hip hop. Often, people think that hip hop is vulgar and degrading to women, but that's not what this hip hop music is about. He uses particular metaphors and rhyme schemes to create mental imagery in the readers mind. I also have my interpretations of the tone and ideas of his poetry. The verse that I have analyzed focuses on a event that takes place in the Last Emperors' life when he found out he had cancer in his liver.
             The very first line in his poem, "paralyzed on the bathroom floor by pain"(line 1) gives the reader the thought a very dark and gloomy tone to the poem. The word paralyzed is a very powerful word, and to be paralyzed by pain would be the most torturing pain one could ever experience. Line four also describes the pain he is experiencing, " feels like rail road spikes being stuck in my liver" (line 4). This line gives the reader a very strong mental image as to what the pain feels like to the him. To have a rail road spike in your liver must feel like your about to die. This is a very influential line in his poem, it sets up a very strong mental image that in turn relates to the tone of the poem.
             In order to make his poem stand out from others, The Last Emperor uses mental imagery, similes and metaphors to demonstrate the importance of a particular verse in the stanza. This will support the importance of the message he is trying to convey. " Rush me to emergency screamin like a new born" is an example of how much pain he was suffering. This is a direct comparison as to what his screaming sounded
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