None of my students
killed the goat,

but they hang strangers
from the power lines

and don't know why.
They order $12 burgers

and stay up late
buying hats online,

and whoever has a hat
needs to be stared at,

and staring is the new
dancing. They don’t

know why closeness
has such insipid lyrics.

They stopped listening
when they heard

about the kids
who killed the goat.

They don't know why
they can’t turn away.

__

"Five Questions" was inspired by my students' reactions to Brigit Pegeen Kelly's poem, "Song."  The class was initially fascinated with the poem (and then maybe haunted by it) in a way that they couldn't quite explain.