On Listening to Your Teacher Take Attendance

“On Listening to Your Teacher Take Attendance” is a 23-line poem that does not rhyme or have a specific meter. There are no consistent beats per line. However, Nezhukumatathil does use uniform line length throughout the poem and organizes the poem into 11 couplets with a singular final line, giving the poem a definitive appearance. The poem is driven by the narrative of a student being ostracized at school, starting with the teacher’s mispronunciation of her name. However, Nezhukumatathil uses the second-person, or “you” perspective, to force the reader to place themselves in the role of the main character. She also uses metaphors and similes—particular of sea creatures—to create correlations that help the reader navigate the speaker’s imaginative responses to the harsh world of the classroom. Nezhukumatathil deliberately juxtaposes the speaker’s descriptions about the actual situation of the classroom with imaginings to heighten the emotional responses the speaker negotiates.

The use of the second person, or “you” narration, is highly effective for encouraging readers to engage with “On Listening to Your Teacher Take Attendance.” Despite whatever biases or privileges the reader might possess, the use of the “you”