On Listening to Your Teacher Take Attendance

The “you” (the speaker) orders herself to “Breathe deep” (Line 1) despite the “fake-lemon antiseptic” (Line 2) that’s been used to clean the room. This opening image clarifies two things: First, the declaration to engage in deep-breathing shows the speaker’s need to calm herself as she anticipates the teacher mispronouncing her last name; this emphasizes that the speaker has experienced this before. The opening image also highlights the exceptional cleanliness of the room. Along with the “antiseptic” (Line 2), the description of “the mopped floors” (Line 3) and “wiped-down doorknobs” (Lines 3-4) create the image of an immaculate environment. This spotlessness is then extended to the surrounding students, who sport “freshly soaped necks / and armpits” (Lines 4-5). However, the “fake-lemon” scent, while describing the cleaner, suggests falsity.

As the reader learns from the title, the speaker is “listening” to the teacher take attendance. While the speaker gives the teacher the benefit of the doubt—he ”means well” (Line 5)—he does in fact do what the speaker fears. He “butchers” (Line 6) her name in front of her peers. This action solidifies the tension that permeates the rest of the poem. The emotional violence of the teacher’s inability to pronounce the name is a dramatic contrast to the previously described clean room and students.