Did I Miss Anything?

The poem is written in free or unrhymed verse and does not follow a regular metrical scheme. Its lines are enjambed and of varying lengths. It nonetheless has a musical, rhythmic quality that recreates the patterns of oral speech; the easy flow of lines makes it clear this is a poem meant to be spoken aloud. The visual layout of the poem on the page gives it the quality of a fierce internal dialogue and the indented stanzas show the speaker is veering between answers. Although the poem eschews traditional form, it can be interpreted as a variation of a dramatic monologue or a soliloquy, both forms in which a speaker addresses an unseen audience, often represented by the word “you.” As if declaiming to an audience, the speaker’s dramatic and exaggerated style of speaking further gives the poem the quality of a theatrical performance piece, since both the dramatic monologue and the soliloquy are forms well adapted to the stage.

For an irregular, unrhymed poem, “Did I Miss Anything” has an unexpectedly musical quality. Much of this musicality arises from the