Elliptical

In Mullen’s free-verse poem, she writes a series of unfinished sentences with ellipses in the unfinished sections, which express a division between the first-person “we” and third-person “they” groups. It is up to the reader to fill in what the tensions between the two groups are, much like filling in a Mad Libs game. The emotional perspective constantly shifts throughout the prose-like poem from us making allowances for them to us calling them out for their unwanted behaviors. The juxtapositions often result from the use of transitional words known to show contrast between two adjoining sentences, ultimately portraying Mullen’s interest in how language works to suggest meaning.

In the first line, Mullen suggests that the “they” group is not able to accomplish something while the “we” group has desires about what they wish the “they” group would do or be like: “We all wish” (Line 1).  At the start of the second line, Mullen expresses the “they” group in absolutes: “They never…They always…” (Line 2). Then, she uses more language flexibility with “sometimes” and “once in a while” (Line 2), suggesting that there is some mobility in their behaviors. In the third line, the first word is “however” (Line 3), suggesting a counterpoint to her ending of Line 2.