The title of the poem doesn't leave much for the reader to uncover. Using "Rape" as a title shows her directness to this poem, as well as the essence of the poem. Why did she choose such a powerful word? If, in fact, this poem deals with a situation where someone has been raped, then we might assume she wanted to attract a particular audience, possibly one who's been in their situation.

A quick glance at the poem will tell you that it is a free verse poem. Words do not rhyme, nor follow a typical structure. However, you will notice there are six stanzas with five lines each. We can assume from the title of the poem that the author might have used this technique to show that she wasn't concerned with perfection, but the expression of what she wanted to say. Nevertheless, we are unknowing of what this poem is actually about.

The third stanza goes into gruesome detail of the act of which the cop performed. You are seeing the event through her eyes, feeling the destruction. You have a feeling of remorse and anger. You are left helpless and in need to cry for help. "The hysteria in his voice pleases him best" shows explicitly that the rapist enjoyed the torture he was bringing upon her.

Finally, the last stanza is the reasoning behind the continued abuse. As we ask ourselves, "why allow yourself to be degraded in such a way?", she explains with preciseness. "He has access to machinery that could get you put away" is in my opinion, the basis of this poem. She is afraid of the consequences of saying a word to anyone who can help. Either from manipulation, or assumptions created, she believes that if anyone finds out, she will go to jail. This leads me to believe that she is young and unable to fight for herself because of her youth. Obviously, getting justice will not cause you to go to jail. However, that is her belief, and for good reason. If it is indeed her father, then she will believe what he says. And because he is a cop, he might have created a perfect lie involving his job to frighten her.

As we approach the second to the last stanza, she begins to read deep in the mind of the cop. Instead of talking about what he looks like, what he did, or his lifestyle, she creates assumptions about what he's thinking. This may be the initial reaction after the event. He probably spoke to her and told her some things that led to these assumptions. She feels as if he enjoyed every moment of it and is in a sense, mocking her. She senses his desires and believes he is receiving a mutual response.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Using Rape, Adrienne Rich, , acts performed, leads believe, indeed father, throughout poem, cry help, access machinery, title poem, warlords trash,
Approximate Word count = 1136
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)