In Colorado My Father Scoured and Stacked Dishes

The poem is set in free verse. Lines are irregular in length. The language is conversational and does not insist on or abide by a predictable rhythm. Although the poem is arranged in couplets, those couplets do not rhyme. Often the thought from lines in one couplet is completed by the first line of the next couplet. That bravura act of transcendence is emphasized by the poem’s visual design; the space between the couplets is exaggerated, heightened, making the leap from one to the next that much more demanding and that much more heroic. 

The poem’s irregular form underscores the importance of breaking down barriers. While it explores the tragedy of a father and son who cannot fully belong to or transcend the boundaries of their new country’s hostile culture, it also breaks through divisions with its form and meter, celebrating a freedom the speaker and his father have yet to fully experience.

Poetry is often seen as a medium for intimate, confessional expression, where poets share personal emotions and experiences. However, in a 2013 interview with BOMB—a quarterly publication that highlights emerging artists through discussions about their creative processes—Corral explained that his poetry moves away from the traditional use of first-person speakers who explore only the poet’s life.