Two hands in the air

reaching. We stop

and

we stretch.

It looks like praise

for the completion.

It looks like celebration.

 

We are surrendering.

 

How we count after

we’ve buckled our shoes,

closed the door,

and begin the daily work.

 

“Please bring two #2 pencils.”

 

We lay them straight

across the top

of our finished papers

we know numbers count.

It only means

we’ll be doing this

 

again and again and again

 

We are driven by into these “A”-holes:

 

administration

assessment

achievement

 

again.

 

It begins with ring play,

red-rover-rosey-

farmers-picking-wives-

send-(fill in the blank)-on-over

and

it ends with filling in the circle.

 

“Make heavy black marks.”

“Cleanly erase any answer you wish to change.”

“Make no stray marks on this answer sheet.

 

The only correct mark in the example

is a fully-colored bubble. It is demonstrated for you.

You hope you get this right. You want to be the child

the wife picks, but know you’ll be the cheese in end.

 

Cheese begins with “c.”

C’s makes us nervous

at our desks. It’s the middle answer.

 

It’s a trick.

It’s a trap.

 

A proctor asks if anyone has a question.

There is procedure here.

The signal is one hand in the air, but

you feel both arms reaching skyward

toward a fluorescent light.

 

“Yes. . .you have a question.”

 

A question.

 

A.

 

question.

 

Questions we answer: A.

 

You put your hands back down

and put them on our lap.

 

You strive for 89%

at least. A one-time chance

to

 

B.