Shape--> "My Body"

"My Body"

http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/shape.html
(Example #3)

Overall, I thought this poem had a negative tone. The speaker describes their body as "an outward visual caption". I agree that looks do not define who a person is, but their is a negative undertone in this description. It leads me to believe he or she does not like their body or the way people see them.

This thought is later backed up when the speaker admits they "sometimes hide." It is possible that the speaker has appearance issues. I also found this line ironic because it is hard to hide from everyone. Sooner or later, you have to converse with strangers and it will be impossible to hide forever.

The last lines confused me. "What you see is what you will get" could mean that the speaker has given up complaining about their body or that they have accepted the way they look. Besides the fact that this poem is in the shape of a body, I do not think it lends any meaning to the poem as a whole.

After analyzing the literary terms for this poem, I understood it better. The cacophony of "walking representation" and "outward visual caption" shows the discordance the speaker has with their body at the beginning of the poem. However, the euphony of "what you see is what you will get" shows the acceptance the speaker has with their body.