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JOSIE'S POEMS

EXAMINATIONS ON THE HORIZON?
Poem:  The Day of the Exam

Day of the Exam .jpg

THE DAY OF THE EXAM

By Josie Whitehead

Day of the Exam (The)

Today is the day when the raindrops patter, 
When the wind blows and the leaves scatter. 
      Today my mind’s running hither and thither. 
      It’s a day when my nerves feel all of a dither. 
 
Through the pattering rain and leaves that blow, 
Nearer and nearer to the school I go. 
     Amidst forming chaos and the panic stations, 
     The churning stomach and the expectations - 
 
To a desk in the corner with paper and pen. 
I’m on the starting line, flag’s waved and then – 
    It’s eyes on my paper, the mind on the job. 
    Now, brain in gear - how my temples throb! 
 
I must read the questions, allow time to think; 
Then it’s pen to paper and here comes the ink. 
    Read what you’ve written!  Did you comprehend? 
    'Time’s up!  Stop writing!  Your exams at an end.'

Copyright on all my poems

The Day of the Exam:  I was dictating for a shorthand examination years ago, and my classroom was in Queen Street, Jersey - a main street through the town.  As I was dictating, to my horror, I heard the sound of the Band coming up the street, playing music loudly.  It was going to the Howard Davies Park, St Helier and would have come right under my window.  As it was necessary for my students to hear every word that I dictated, with only 2% of error allowed before 'FAIL' on their results, the principal of our college, Miss Nickels, ran down the road and stopped the band for a short time.  Oh how glad we were.  Josie 

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