Speaker

The speaker is the first person entity who guides the reader through the poems in the collection. As the reader progresses through the collection, this speaker gains dimension and depth. The reader learns that the speaker is an only child who has grown up in New England with his mother. His mother was a nail salon worker. She also dated men who treated the speaker poorly, often harassing him, as alluded to in “Tell Me Something Good.” The speaker loved his mother and tried to be loyal and good to her. However, in a poem like “Rise & Shine,” the speaker confesses that he stole his mother’s tip money from the salon to buy drugs. In order to convince himself that he is a “decent son,” he makes his mother eggs before going out in search of a high (34). In the poems “Dear Peter,” “Reasons for Staying,” and...