this must be some kind of joke
I wish I knew the punchline
damn exams
the papers & the endless words
the worry
all for what
how can people with a gram of sense
believe it really matters
yet the slavish masks around me
bending low
write as if their lives depended on it
to be or not to be
a tricky question
what's the answer
O-Level Life's so difficult to pass
perhaps to laugh out loud
would be the wisest
no
"Throughout virtually the whole of the modern educational system there now exists one powerful and impressive form of super-tribal initiation ceremony, which goes under the revealing name of 'examinations'. These are conducted in the heavy atmosphere of high ritual, with the pupils cut off from all outside assistance. Just as in the tribal ritual, no one can help them. They must suffer on their own. At all other times in their lives they can make use of books of reference, or discussions over difficult points, when they are applying their intelligence to a problem, but not during the private rituals of the dreaded examinations.
The ordeal is further intensified by setting a strict time limit and by crowding all the different examinations together in the short space of a few days or weeks. The overall effect of these measures is to create a considerable amount of mental torment, again recalling the mood of the more primitive initiation ceremonies of simple tribes."(The Human Zoo, Desmond Morris)
no-one would ever understand
they'd think
I'd just cracked up
& I'd be counted as a casualty in battle
easier to play the game
submit to degradation & be graded
supply whatever is expected
by the powers that be
lie & lie & lie again
but very plausibly
the promise of a good result
like some sweet & juicy carrot is
meant to make this donkey-work worthwhile
but I feel stubborn as a mule
refuse to jump another hurdle
I don't want to win the race
such a course insults a horse
my days as hack are almost over
put out to pastures new
I'll graze in clover
(A MINUTE LEFT)
still time to daydream
examine the world outside the window
surely there we can be free at last
not mere pupils under one more master
surely somewhere we shall see
writ large in neon lights
HAPPINESS * BEAUTY * TRUTH * & LIBERTY
(STOP WRITING NOW)
