The mention of the speaker’s body from “coatless” (line 2) and “bare feet” (line 5) enforces this idea that he wants the readers to feel present, which also carries over until line 12. However, after line 12 it feels like the speaker is using less descriptive details about his environment showing the lack of interest they have in the world. He is experiencing this touch of reality that forces him to act on his survival instincts, like how his father is abusing him and about not wanting to ever deal with that again. Also, the speaker sounds exhausted with the way they said,” Each mile / birthing three more,” but also revealing the kind of distance he needs in order to get it out of his system (line 6-7). His frustration of conforming into the presentation that his father sets for him and what society has placed upon him could also be included to his crash out. The speaker says,”There are sorrel horses / herding inside me. / In a four legged night,” (lines 8-10) which uses a metaphor to highlight how he has adrenaline like horses, and is hinting of wanting to stand their ground. Lines 14 & 15 provide this line break and enjambment to allow the hesitation the speaker has over his life, he thinks, “what I thought was the end / of myself. To answer”. This creates tension & anticipation over the next bullet that speaker plans on using to end his life as the title of the poem “After the First Shot” could indicates this. However, when the speaker says, “your rifle’s last question:” (line 16) could indicate the speaker’s father as the shooter. The last two lines suggest a compromise between the father and the speaker as one side will never accept the speaker’s identity, and making the speaker feel like his end is through this second shot.