Crown of Effort by Otieno Elvis Gikoi
I have carried books through endless days,
Walked the long and winding ways.
From early dawn to fading light,
Hard work has been my guiding sight.
Exams have tested, lessons burned,
Through sleepless nights, the pages turned.
Each struggle carved a stronger me,
Each effort shaped my destiny.
Now the final year has come,
The race is near, the journey done.
I stand with courage, firm and true,
Hard work has brought me safely through.
No crown is won by idle hands,
No dream fulfilled by shifting sands.
It is the sweat, the will, the fight,
That lifts the future into sight.
Let me rise, with hope and cheer,
For hard work shines in my final year.
@ArtOfHeart
Study Talks
Maths, Science, English, Hindi,
Sr. Newton why u discovered gravity? ,
Formulas and experiments,
books took our brain on rent
Day or night root and Square
always have frustating fight.
My bat and ball are waiting for me,
I also wanna play out suddenly.
It's been a long time,
Since I have drawn something.
I just want to free myself
to achive more and more...... everything,
English has its Grammar,
Math and physics are undiscovered
chemistry and biology
they even make me feeling lazy.
History for me is like a mystery,
I would learn photography
rather than geography.
?? thanks
I sit here, staring at the page,
Hands cold, breath shallow, mind in a cage.
The clock ticks louder than my thoughts,
Each second stolen, each answer lost.
But I won’t give up, I won’t give in,
This battle is hard, but I’ll still begin.
I’ve come too far to let fear decide,
I’ll rise, I’ll push, I’ll stand with pride.
They say, “Just focus, you’ll be fine,”
But they don’t hear this war in my mind.
The weight of ‘what ifs’ presses down,
One wrong step, and I might drown.
Yet it's not about just numbers, not just scores,
Not just a race to perfect doors.
I have dreams, and I will fight,
Through every storm, I’ll find my light.
So I place my hand upon my chest,
Feel my heart; I am doing my best.
I trust myself, I will break through,
My dreams are real, and I’ll make them true.
Existential Exams
By Mark D. Stucky
Math problems, essay questions,
multiple choice, fill in the blanks…
Many are the tests we take
from grade school through grad school.
We also encounter challenging existential exams,
pop quizzes in the swirling whirlwinds of quotidian life,
tests of character, of the heart, of the soul,
that rarely have quick and easy solutions.
Resembling complex math problems,
they challenge us all to “show our work.”
(First published in Solid Food Press, 27 Feb. 2024. See also my poems “Margin of Error,” “Salvation in an App Store,” and “Reluctant Rogue Redo?”)
(Image by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com.)
You’re making me wait
“just two more weeks,”
but already the wait’s
crossed half a year.
“A few more weeks,
no difference,”you say,
and it’s true, but you see,
in the bigger picture,
a whole generation waits.
a/n: The system of education here in Sri Lanka is far from moving on from the differences that covid brought to us. The whole economical crisis and the political unrest last year made it worse.
I am an Advanced Level student, and it is currently announced that we have to sit for the exams throughout January, whereas the my sister sat for hers in the August, as all grade thirteen students are supposed to do. Already, there are rumours that the exams will be postponed again to the end of January.
And if we are to consider ourselves in parallel to our junior grades, we in fact just started the first term of a ‘grade fourteen’ today. Lol.
Nevertheless, the biggest issue here is that at this rate, in which the delayed exam dates are only pulled forward by a week, (or even few days as it is in our case), it will take at least twenty years for the system to adopt the original calendar.
Examinations were already done,
The wait for the results has gone.
It's time to show what we've learned,
And see the grades that we've earned.
The outcome may be good or bad,
But don't let it make you sad.
It's a chance to learn and grow,
And do better than before, you know.
If you get a high score, well done!
If you don't, never feel undone.
For it's not just about the marks,
But how you've grown in mind and heart.
So let's get the results with grace,
And be proud of our efforts and the race.
For we are all stars in our own right,
Shining brightly in our own light.
Final exams start Thursday,
and it’s giving us all the feels.
Finals have a gravity of their own.
Are the papers worse than exams? Maybe.
The tension can be relentless and heavy.
“It’s finals week, see you on the other side.”
As for me, I’m almost packed up.
Time is an odd and unpredictable beast.
It’s hard to believe that in two weeks, I'll be a junior.
It’s an unimaginable prospect.
To work, for a long time at something that seemed impossible
- head down in concentration - then suddenly, like a passing,
cotton cloud somehow became a bunny - everything came into focus.
I’m halfway done. I’m going to make it. I got a chill.
I wanted to throw my lattice windows wide open and scream for joy
- but it might’ve been taken wrong. I’ve no time to give mental health advisors.
Next week might be a more plausible time for wooting.
.
.
It has to be said. I’m in love with these songs:
‘Arizona‘ by ‘Ms. White’
‘Blood in the Cut’ by ‘K.Flay’
‘Time Machine’ by ‘Willow’
‘Relax’ by ‘Vacations’
‘Do the motion’ by ‘BoA’
“Tender as a bomb’ by ‘tennis’
Sitting surrounded amidst the heap,
Like a gale or like a storm
They come every year every month
All the cheer they sweep aside
All a sudden Heavy books heavy pile
With dark bags under every eye
Cramming night sleeping daytime
Drowsiness engulfs from the backside
Head up focused yet mind outside
Ticking clock running the time
3,4,5,6
Mental trauma making way inside.
We’re no strangers to perceptible sacrifice
so, we’ve put all flavors of fun on ice.
Einsteining overnight - alone - is
about as exciting as a windows phone.
But I’ve been-to-the-show as a pinckney,
and in my years of parental-stalking analyses
the juice is definitely worth the squeeze.
Soon holiday parties will be made gold
by candlelight and champagne cold.
We’ll decorate with reds and greens
and surrounding ourselves with tinseled things
we’ll sing songs of angels and newborn kings.
But not just yet, no, not now - now tis the *pre-seasoning* -
a time of unrest, stress and testing - and God help
you if they’re not impressed with your reasoning.
.
.
slang…
einsteining = studying for exams
been-to-the-show = seen things
pinckney = a child
the juice is worth the squeeze = the reward is worth the work
Pariksha Pe Charcha
Pariksha Pe Charcha
When the session ends
A student wends
Shows a lot of determination
To prepare for one’s examination
We all feel stressed
And everything seems messed
There’s no time to waste
As we are being raced
Then just before our exam
‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’, by our Prime Minister came to rescue
Taught us there’s no need to cram
Just find what works best for you
We learnt that technology is a boon not a curse
It’s in our hands if we make it worse
Celebrate an exam like a festival
And try not to hustle
Competition is the best part of life
That’s how we learn to thrive
Working on ourselves continuously
And taking decisions cautiously
Marks do not matter
But that doesn’t mean we should smatter
Just try to give your best
Because it’s just a test
Sunlight long gone for Night's Moonlight
And its sure throbbing delight:
"God, help me tomorrow at school
To exams pass and feel 'No Fool' "
This night watchers to buy tickets,
As shrill chirps we start like crickets;
Outlaws choose to a park picket:
The sweeter than Cricket's Wicket...
An unpaid nurse hand in pockets
A patient curses for his rickets
A mechanic who fears sprocket
An astronaut who hates Rocket;
Three lovers with one Gold Locket...
Sunlight long died for Darkness Light
And its promising comic bite!
simply awake
No music lulls
No quiet snoozes
No counting naps
No stretching tires
My clock taunts me
No comfort lullabies
No breathing relaxes
Pajamas strangle me
No coolness soothes
No meditation stupors
No visualization sleeps
No position tranquilizes
No supplements sedate
No aromatherapy calms
or finger painting slumbers
I am insomnia’s vigilant sentry.
Where, oh where's the sandman?
It was the exam of all exams to test the mind....The Soul....Phyiscal agility...Years of Coordination, and Comprehension Skills.... I went for a walk and the pool had a leak I happen to go ito the store and found a New Hubba Bubba Brand..... I looked at it before I chewed and saw that it had a new sugar wax on the side ... I looked at my pool and thought to myself with a pool full of water and 2 ft deep.... What do I do but make an imprint too... It was a centimeter round and had to go just right... I aimed correctly with everything I could see in sight.... Hand in the air and visualizing my aim.... I thought of a cue ball and racked balls ... It only took a few seconds .... if that at all .... I made it perfect right in the hole ... Took my index finger and smoothed the surface.... With a perfect seal I complimented myself was this this the final exam??? An Eight Ball in the Side pocket and now I am an ace...
I travelled a distance,
The distance which is long and of miles.
I completed all the syllabus wide as sky.
I lived seven days like seven months.
I sacrificed my sleep and awake till rising of the sun.
I sleep in my books and scattered notebooks.
A lot of stress during exam I took
Now everything is fine
this is about exam's time.
finally the exams gone over
A lot of syllabus often leads to hangover.
I tried my best ,
Without any rest.
Waiting for the degree and facilitation ceremony .
Medals and awards are something that can't be earned from money.
Examination
The clock is ticking...
Sweat on my hands,
Making it difficult to write.
Nerves kick in...
Suddenly the ground starts shaking, l guess the answers won't come l forgot what l studied....
Eyes wander to the next table, what a pity! She too is stuck, l scratch my head hoping to find clues to solving this equation infront of me...
The clock is still ticking....like a time bomb.
It is now a guessing game, a race against time, home is calling.
The paper gets tougher.
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.