A majority of the book’s poems use the sestina form. The sestina was likely invented by Anaut Daniel––a 12th-century European troubadour. Troubadours recited their verses to music. The sestina features six stanzas of six lines (a sestet) and a seventh stanza featuring three lines (an envoi). The form repeats the same end-words to create the following pattern:

Line 1: ABCDEF

Line 2: FAEBDC

Line 3: CFDABE

Line 4: ECBFAD

Line 5: DEACFB

Line 6: BDFECA

The envoi has some flexibility. It can go ACE or ECA, but it must also feature the other three end words at some point. Traditional sestinas follow a meter—a set pattern of unstressed-stressed syllables—but Frost forgoes meter, allowing the teen characters a greater range of expression. They can narrate their feelings and actions, and Frost doesn’t cut them off due to a syllable count.

As only the teen characters use the sestina, the form represents their agility and resilience. The words can return and slide into different places, just as the teens can confront their difficult experiences and adapt to diverse contexts. Conversely, the sestina reflects the disorderly construct of life. The teens battle life and its unplanned twists. They must display resolve to keep themselves safe and composed.