The use of poetic devices by John Murillo assists in creating a theme for the poem. A few of the poetic devices used in the poem are repetition and alliteration. Repetition can be found throughout the entire poem. For example, during lines 22 - 23, the author states, "My father’s dusty / wax My father’s dust / got reasons" giving an impression that something about his father holds a significant factor to the poem's theme. The words "my father" are etched into the readers' minds with the use of repetition. Repetition plays the role of psychology as it repeats certain words or phrases to engrave questions and ideas into the readers' minds. Similarly, another instance of repetition can be found in the final lines of the poem, from line 42 - 44.