Genre 2: Emotions Through poetry
This poem is written from the perspective of Daniel Hole as he tutors a reluctant Andy Mott during swim team practice. After Mott’s admission that he was abused by his mother’s various boyfriends as a child and that his use of a prosthetic leg is connected to this abuse, Dan and the rest of the swim team are given an opportunity to consider Mott’s standoffish attitude in a completely different light. This poem uses frameworks closely related to Dan’s own identity—he is known for his superfluous vocabulary—to delve deeper into who Mott is: a person that is shaped by his trauma but not necessarily defined by it. The medium of poetry allows this exploration to transcend the confines of analysis and take on an emotional voice of its own, exploring trauma and identity through imagery-invoking metaphor and lending a definitively personal voice to the character of Dan.