On Reading Poems to a Senior Class At South High

This poem is for last week i totally forgot.

Before
I opened my mouth
I noticed them sitting there
as orderly as frozen fish
in a package.

Slowly water began to fill the room
though I did not notice it
till it reached
my ears

and then I heard the sounds
of fish in an aquarium
and I knew that though I had
tried to drown them
with my words
that they had only opened up
like gills for them
and let me in.

Together we swam around the room
like thirty tails whacking words
till the bell rang
puncturing
a hole in the door

where we all leaked out

They went to another class
I suppose and I home

where Queen Elizabeth
my cat met me
and licked my fins
till they were hands again.


I think this poem is from the point of view of the teacher. The teacher is talking about poetry and does not think any of the students care or want to listen, but without her noticing she has caught their attention and they are starting to get intrigued. The whole class is listening to the teacher probably having an intense discussion and they are "swimming" around the room together. then the class ends and everything becomes normal again. This is saying that this does not happen all the time that the students normally just sit there uninterested but this class they became interested. that is why it is almost a fairytale and why she compares them to fish. and it explains why at the end of the poem the teacher goes back to his house and everything is normal again that is why the cat is in the story because the cat gives the end of the poem a normalcy for the author/teacher.   i did not really like this poem. i just did not find it interesting maybe it is because i cannot relate to the point of view the poem is told from.