Robin Becker

My students refuse to write
about the darkness in their lives.
We want to be happy, one chimes in.
Even the smart girl is with them this time.
Show us joy, she taunts.

And now I can't think
of a single joyful poem I'd like
to assign them, to prove I'm not
a depressing geek and know
how to have a good time. Instead,

I ask them to turn to page 58, I can't help
myself, they asked for it. Fern Hill.
The smart girl volunteers to read aloud
and does so in the flat voice of the smart-bored.
It's a trap, someone shouts from the back,

The descriptive detail is just a ploy
to lead us on. One boy rises to fire, pointing
a long finger at me. The class quiets,
Dylan Thomas was just like all of you poets!
He knew all along he was going to die!

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"Dylan's Fault" is from The Horse Fair, by Robin Becker, © 2000. All rights are controlled by the University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA 15261. Used by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press.