The Cult of the Exam Result

My fellow testees
Stood with shrunken testes
Like Michelangelo’s David before the giant
We might make it, but -
We might not make the cut
The un-chosen ones
With foreskins intact.

Like the Jabberwock it came
That Goliath of fearsome fame
Instead of David’s sling we wield
Vorpal pencils and pens -
We stood and fought like men
Poured out the ink like blood upon
Exam’s gory battlefield.

Countless days and nights we spent
Like Daniel in the lion’s den
Every day on rooftops we prayed
Filled with faith in the midst of doubt
Light within outshone darkness without;
Thoughts and deeds pure and devout -
Until the exam results came out…

Reviews

[TLK]

Strong metaphor. The appropriation of the language of Jabberwocky is very nicely done, and leads to the excellent visual image of the battlefield.

There is a reference in each stanza, of course, which makes it all the more pleasing that the whole hangs together so well, rather than all the different ideas pulling it apart.

The last two lines are very wry, and made me laugh.

[Alvin L. Kathembe]

Thank you!
I love hiding references in my work...it gives me so much pleasurediscovering them in others'!