"Dream Broker" by Charles Simic

Right away Simic grabs us and pulls us in. "You may find yourself," he says, "with my help / Taking small apprehensive steps / In a cabal of side streets," and immediately we lean in (341). Where are you taking me? we ask, hesitant, yet willing to continue. This is a really great way to begin a poem--buy addressing the reader directly. And then he keeps us involved through the entire poem through the use of the second person, the "you." This is a difficult thing to do when it comes to any writing, and many people using it, afraid they will sound bossy. But, obviously we can see from Simic's poem, it can be very effective. This is not the only technique that Simic uses to keep us involved, however. The concrete details and vivid imagery paint bold pictures in our minds, making it absolutely impossible to ignore Simic's words. And then, at the end of the poem, after we have spent all of this time with him--taking our small, apprehensive steps after his shadow, he plunges in his dagger--calles us "chump"--and twists: "It got dark... / But nobody else came along." Clearly Simic is a very talented writer, because by this time, he has effectively hooked us, reeled us in, and smacked us against the boat where we wriggle under his gaze, ghasping for air. Nice.