I Am Offering This Poem

This poem wears its heart on its sleeve, with the phrase “I love you” (Line 7) repeated four times. These repetitions, together with the poem’s tone and imagery, convey a deep, abiding affection for the speaker’s beloved only rightly communicated in the form of a poem.

Baca draws attention to the sentiment “I love you” (Line 7) not only through repetition but by placing it in one-line stanzas and tabbing the words away from the left margin of the page. Due to its positioning, the phrase stands out for the person reading the poem in silence, as well as the person reading it aloud. The stanza breaks and extra white space both create pauses in the poem’s pacing when read out loud. Further, Baca ends the poem with the fourth repetition of “I love you” (Line 30), a parting message for his beloved and the most important message he wants to convey.

A tender tone reinforces this message. The speaker expresses care and concern for the beloved, considering the harsh trials that await. He compares the very poem to a series of comforting objects and expresses a desire to “make you feel safe […]” (Line 22).