"I Lost My Talk" begins with the speaker stating that she has lost her native language, which she calls her "talk." This language, she says, didn't just disappear: it was stolen from her—by the very people she is addressing.
The repetition of the word "talk" (which in this case is more specifically anadiplosis) immediately emphasizes what is at the heart of this poem: language. The choice to use the word "talk" rather than "language," however, is important.
On the one hand, this makes the poem feel less formal, and it might evoke the way losing a native language hinders the ability to express oneself. The phrase "I lost my talk" has a certain strangeness to it that suggests a lack of ease with English, or that the speaker is trying to say something that doesn't quite translate.
This, in turn, draws attention to the fact that, though the speaker has lost her own native language, English hasn't entirely replaced it; instead, she is stuck somewhere in between, unable to freely speak her own language, and uncomfortable with the language of her oppressor.
At the same time, the actual sounds of word "talk" add to the poem's intensity. Note how the /t/ and /k/ consonance and /aw/ assonance work together to create a rather sharp, staccato rhythm:
I lost my talk
The talk you took away.
The lines don't feel free-flowing; instead, they feel abrupt and quite direct.