Long Way Down

“The worst part… / is the constant slipping / of your tongue / into the new empty space” 

Will thinks about grief and how it feels for him. He describes how having a tooth pulled is most disturbing because of the hole it leaves behind. He compares this sensation of loss to hole left behind after Shawn’s death.

“I think she hoped / her voice would / somehow keep him / alive” 

Will refers to Leticia in this passage, one of the earliest scenes in the novel. Shawn has just been shot, and Leticia weeps over his body in the street. Will describes her weeping as an attempt to him back, a way to channel her grief into a miracle.

“gun shots make everybody / deaf and blind” 

Will reflects on the neighborhood’s impulse to avoid police interaction, even after a violent crime. He describes how even those who wept over Shawn’s body didn’t see or hear anything; they lie to avoid becoming a suspect or another victim.