Exams and Going Under

each year we all have them
the curious minds of teachers
finding out how well they teach
how well we learn

each month goes past
matters start getting serious
teachers going over the same paper
going over the same lecture

each lesson stays
in the back of the mind
of that one struggling child
the one no-one listens too

each week gets shorter
lessons slowly fade to the past
getting dimmer
and forgetting everything

each day goes past
leading you closer
but leading you further astray
from the point you are meant to reach

each hour they sit there
furious that they cant win
against the battle
of constant pressure

each minute clocks past
60, 59, 58, 57....
the minute gets shorter
so does the passage

each second leaves a memory
one that shouldn't of been wasted
on the telly or laptop
watching flashing images

the day arrives
they sit and stare at the paper
water forms in their eyes
leaving them with damp hands

they do the test
knowing some answers and
guessing the rest
lucky and not so random

the results pin up to the wall
they waited so long for these
the pressure from asking family
tearing them apart

they look at their score
their overall grade
it wasn't that bad
but still they worry

what will other people think?
about this result
is it good enough?
will they get punished or laughed at?

the pressure gets to us all
slowly making us weak
i wrote this to them
things aren't meant to be bad