Forget Me Not

Calli’s perspective is written in first-person free verse, while Jinsong’s is written in first-person prose. Free verse is a style of poetry without a defined meter or rhyme scheme. Each of Calli’s chapters is a titled, self-contained poem. Some of the poems are concrete poems: The words are designed in a shape on the page that mirrors the content of the poem. Free verse focuses the reader on Calli’s thoughts and sensations without an imposed form and with more rhythmic variety than prose, serving the larger goal of the text to give readers insight into the experience of a person with Tourette syndrome. 

Calli’s voice is distinct from others in the story because she is the only one who communicates in verse. This symbolizes how Calli feels categorically different from everyone else; however, just as poetry follows different rules than prose, so do Calli’s neurodiverse thoughts and behaviors simply follow different rules than her neurotypical friends.