You Will Never See Me
By Joyce Alcantara
You may see me struggle
but you won’t see me fall.
Regardless if I’m weak or not
I’m going to stand tall.
Everyone says life is easy
but truly living it is not.
Times get hard,
people struggle
and constantly get put on the spot.
I’m going to wear the biggest smile
even though I want to cry.
I’m going to fight to live
even though I’m destined to die.
And even though it’s hard
and I may struggle through it all.
You may see me struggle…
but you will NEVER see me fall.
Summary of You Will Never See Me
- Popularity of “You Will Never See Me”: The poem “You Will Never See Me” by Joyce Alcantara, a Canadian poet, is a very interesting poem. It first appeared on a website in 2008. The poem seems revolving around the resolution of Alcantara that she would never succumb to the time. The beauty of the poem lies in the integration of the thematic strand with the refrain of “You may see me struggle.”
- “You Will Never See Me” As a Representative of Strong Resolve: Joyce Alcantara opens the poem with the admission that her lover may see her struggling through life but she will never face defeat in her life. She states that it does not matter whether she is weak or not, she will stand tall in the face of difficulties. It is also that her stance of struggling does not change even if everybody says that life is quite easy. Her contention is that times change and when hard times come, life becomes a struggle for the people. In that case, she will be the happiest one, bedecking her face with a smile despite crying inwardly. She argues that she will put up a tough fight to live even though it is her fate to die. She repeats her resolve at the end of the poem, saying she will never retreat and that her lover would always see her waging a struggle against the difficulties life will put in her way.
- Major Themes in “You Will Never See Me”: Strong resolution, desire to live, and desire to struggle are three major themes of this poem. The poet opens the poem with the resolution that she would never face defeat or would never accept defeat even if it is all lost for her. She also states that she wants to live but even if she is going to die and that she cries for it, then she would display the biggest smile on her face. This is her resolution of waging the hardest struggle when life gets hard.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “You Will Never See Me”
literary devices are essential tools for poetic or prose writing to make the text beautiful and worth reading. The analysis of these devices in the poem as given below shows this fact.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /o/ in “but you won’t see me fall”, /a/ in “I’m going to stand tall” and the sound of /e/ in “I’m going to wear the biggest smile.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /t/ in “I’m going to stand tall”, /t/ and /l/ in “but truly living it is not,” and the sound of /t/ and /r/ in “and I may struggle through it all.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
And even though it’s hard
and I may struggle through it all.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “I’m going to stand tall”, “I’m going to wear the biggest smile” and “I’m going to fight to live.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of metaphor such as the poet has compared smile to some attire.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of fall, struggle, weak, or strong to show the times getting hard.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “You Will Never See Me”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows the use of simple diction with minimal use of figurative language but the tone is very reassuring and resolute.
- Free Verse and Rhyming Pattern: The poem does not follow any strict rhyme scheme. Therefore, it is a free verse poem but in the first four lines, it seems that it follows ABCB rhyming pattern.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. The poem is a single stanza having 17 verses in it.
- Repetition and Refrain: The poem shows the use of “You may see me struggle” and “you won’t see me fall” as a repetition as well as a refrain.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “You Will Never See Me” are relevant to quote when making people to resolve to do something.
And even though it’s hard
and I may struggle through it all.
You may see me struggle…
but you will NEVER see me fall.
