SAT Blues

All of the circles are staring you down.
You glare back, with a fierce look, not a frown
The shapes dare you to make your first move.
You seize the moment and enter your mental groove.

Number Two's all around
No ballpoint pens to be found.
For someone like you, sweaty palms are not a common sight.
As you fill in the circles with all of your might.

An A here or a B there
Some of these questions just don't seem to be fair.
Some D's are there with some C's in a line.
Tell yourself not to worry, you know you'll do fine.

Graphite spheres can be seen to the left and to the right.
You seem to be going crazy, but this feeling you cannot fight.
You didn't expect the test to be this hard.
Maybe in the asylum, they'll send you a card.

Finally you're finished, a relief you say.
You are so happy, to have just gotten through the day.
You'll get the results in a month or two.
Why is it that the only worried person seems to be you?

As the month goes by and you hope you didn't fail
The next day a letter comes for you in the mail.
The contents include the results of the test
You hope you did fine, you gave it your best.

The paper says 1400 at the top
All around the house you happily skip and hop.
The next day in school, people know of your grade.
They wonder how much the grader you paid ...

But you wonder about why you didn't do better
Thoughts of a higher score make your tongue get wetter.
A 1600 would have gotten you fortune and fame.
If only you hadn't forgotten to write in your name.

by Matthew C., Millburn, NJ