this is only a test
they say there’s an open book test afterwards
taken in a room full of empty school desks
geometrically formed like a military cemetery
you’re the first one to sit down
and soon thereafter
every person you ever knew
fill the remaining seats one by one
true or false when you were twelve your mother
made you smoke a cigarette in front of her
and afterwards warned you ‘never again’
multiple choice was your first fish caught
from the banks of the mississippi
a cat or a smallmouth bass or a bluegill
it’s okay if you don’t remember
it’s all ancient history by now
like bill & monica or romeo & juliet or adam & eve
this test has no time limit
and the clock on the wall has no hands
and those winged creatures walking back & forth
between the endless aisles
haven’t anything better to do
while waiting for their number to be called
with each wrong answer you’re beginning to wonder
what the consequences could possibly be
I mean will they cast you back & make you start all over
april two thousand twenty
copyright j matthew waters
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