Dani Character Analysis

Then
the bus-stop
lean back
to get a glimpse

of the world.

But the metal barrel
dug into my back,
making me wince,
making me obvious

and wack.

SHE BRUSHED HER HAND AGAINST MINE

to get my attention,
which on any other
occasion would’ve
been the perfect
open for me to flirt
or at least try to do
my best impression of Shawn,

which was
his best impression of Buck.

WHEN THEY SAID

you were gone,
I cried all night,

I confessed.

And the next morning,
over hard-boiled eggs
and sugar cereal,
Shawn taught me
Rule Number One—

no crying.

I stood in the shower
the next morning
after Shawn taught me
the first rule,
no crying,
feeling like
I wanted to scratch
my skin off scratch
my eyes out punch
through something,
a wall,
a face,
anything,
so something else
could have
a hole.

So I explained them to
her so she wouldn’t think
less of me for following
them

[...]

So that she knew I had
purpose

and that this was about
family

and had I known
The Rules when we
were kids I would’ve
done the same thing

for her.

Then
the bus-stop
lean back
to get a glimpse

of the world.

But the metal barrel
dug into my back,
making me wince,
making me obvious

and wack.

SHE BRUSHED HER HAND AGAINST MINE

to get my attention,
which on any other
occasion would’ve
been the perfect
open for me to flirt
or at least try to do
my best impression of Shawn,

which was
his best impression of Buck.

WHEN THEY SAID

you were gone,
I cried all night,

I confessed.

And the next morning,
over hard-boiled eggs
and sugar cereal,
Shawn taught me
Rule Number One—

no crying.

I stood in the shower
the next morning
after Shawn taught me
the first rule,
no crying,
feeling like
I wanted to scratch
my skin off scratch
my eyes out punch
through something,
a wall,
a face,
anything,
so something else
could have
a hole.

So I explained them to
her so she wouldn’t think
less of me for following
them

[...]

So that she knew I had
purpose

and that this was about
family

and had I known
The Rules when we
were kids I would’ve
done the same thing

for her.