Though “Forte-Fortissimo” is not intended to readers as a scary piece of writing, there is a certain haunting quality to this poem. The author speaks of her dysfunctional family and the “well-practiced facts” she spews out to normalize her homelife to those outside of it. Through all the destruction and madness, the author compares herself to a delicate piano, meant as an item of decor in the background, unshaken by the storm of her feuding household. The audience is left to sympathize with her as vivid descriptions of each scene of turmoil occurs, and she is left in silence as “The Big Girl Doll” with the mouth sewn shut.

The audience is desperate to give her some form of relief from this horrific reality. Her comparison of herself to a piano is nearly perfect. She states that she’s never gotten to practice using her keys, or that she’s never used her voice, especially in a house usually filled with screams “until picture frames fall, until paint curls.” She is silenced in their yelling, and hasn’t much played her dusty keys or used her ailing pipes in a while. In closing lines she describes the strain of playing beautifully for people who simply do not want to hear, and explains her outlet for her voice in her writing.