Masks

The poem is one stanza with eight lines. Each line contains four syllables. The last line, Line 8, is the only line with three words instead of five. Line 8 is the only line with a multisyllabic word—”never” (Line 8)—while the rest of the 30 words are monosyllabic. The uniform meter and the terse diction reflect the constrictions on the boy and girl. The four-syllable lines hem in the form, and the choice to hide their blue skin limit the boy and the girl.

The poem has an ababccdc rhyme scheme: Lines 1 and 3 rhyme, Lines 2 and 4 rhyme, and Lines 5, 6, and 8 rhyme. The rhymes bring together the boy and the girl. Like the lines, even though the characters don’t know it, they’re not alone. The rhymes give the lines partners and create a link between the actions. The “blue skin” (Line 1) is “hid” (Line 3) by “he” (Line 2) and “she” (Line 4). There is a cause and effect. In contrast, Line 7 has no rhyme; the lone unrhymed line speaks to the solitariness of the boy, the girl, and their search.