If there's one thing that characterizes the sound of this poem, it's straightforward prose. In fact, if it weren't for the liberal peppering of strange similes throughout the piece, it could almost be prose. The sentences are clear and short, for the most part, giving the whole thing an almost clipped tone and making the narrator seem very down-to-earth and no-nonsense. Just look at the refrain "that story" used as a whole sentence. It's short, to the point, and definitive—just like the whole poem.