Point of View

The poem is written in a first-person point-of-view. The speaker (who should not be mistaken for the same person as the poet) is telling us the story exclusively from his own perspective, and there is no insight into any other character’s perspective. The use of first-person point-of-view allows a poem to feel relatable and personal. This element is particularly notable in a poem that otherwise feels highly constructed given its use of a shaped format. By using first person, the poet constructs a sense of natural speech that is otherwise absent from the poem.

The poem takes place in present tense. While the poem does make use of some phrases in past tense, addressing events that happened before the poem is taking place the central "action" of the poem proceeds in the present. This present-tense structure foregrounds the immediacy of the poem as the...