Who Understands Me but Me

“Who Understands Me but Me” is written in free verse—poetry that does not follow specific rhyme schemes or rhythmic patterns. Free verse mimics the way people speak outside of poetry, making it relatable and accessible to a wider audience. Though “Who Understands Me but Me” does not follow specific rhyme schemes, and though each individual sentence feels conversational, the poem relies on repetition to create a rhythm. Throughout the first stanza, the speaker repeats the sentence structure, using “[t]hey take” and “I live” (Lines 5, 6, 7) to create a sense of unity. Each sentence fits like a puzzle piece. It mimics the monotony of prison life and the constancy of deprivation and abuse. The poem becomes a list or a litany of ways those in power take more and more from those under their control. This viewpoint emphasizes the cruelty of the guards and the almost numbing quality of the daily routine of abuse. It makes the turn at the end more surprising, when the speaker responds to this ongoing degradation with the discovery of his own self-worth.