Results day

Nearly a week has gone by since the A level ‘Results day’ and now we’re on the eve of the GCSE one. For me the wholly uncalled for importance that is attached to this day, to those results, serves only to unnecessarily add to the stress of young lives, lives that should be about seeking fulfillment, not passing exams.

Here is my take on that awful day:

Amidst the smiles, the frowns,
The ups, the downs,
Excited chirpings, deep felt thoughts,
Fulfilled ambition? all for nought?
Delighted screams, quiet despair,
Hope and disappointment mixed up in there,
In the moment, from afar,
Mapped out futures at this bizarre bazaar.

Hear it for the kids, aiming for gold,
Deciding their futures, or so they are told
The throw of a dice, the scrape of a pen 
Onwards, and upwards…or failure again!

Wandering, wondering, abandoned out there
Nothing to live for, no-one to care
Around him the myriad mapped out lives
Not feeling amongst them but no surprise
To be an outsider gazing in awe
At the world around him, so certain, so sure
Not understanding his roots of despair
Firmly and cruelly holding him there

The day wears on excited and sad,
People to tell, drinks to be had,
Plans to be formed, hopes reignited,
For some, but for others futures blighted.
One disappears into his space,
While another goes quiet just to save face,
Silently nursing their worst found fears,
Waiting for home to let flow the tears.

 Let’s hear it for them, they were hoping for gold,
Deciding their futures, or so they were told
The throw of a dice, the scrape of a pen
Onwards and upwards…or failure again!

 
Wasted and wallowing in moribund state
No-one to blame, no-one to hate
Unseen, aimlessly wandering around
Inwardly screaming, no outward sound
The familiar mantra lived to the letter
Over and over, ‘Could do better’
He thinks that too, but doesn’t know how
No one to help and it’s too late now

 As evening draws close they gather as friends,
To mark the moment before the day ends,
Determined to party into the night,
Whether or not their futures look bright.
So much ambition, steady, on track,
So much regret, now, looking back,
So many hopes, dashed and broken,
So many fears left unspoken.

Wistful and weary the time comes to go
Away from this place, he’s nothing to show
To discover new places, new friendships to share
In the hope that life might be better out there
That somehow being in some other place
Will make everything better, a welcome embrace
Though knowing this won’t make everything right
This isn’t escape, just taking flight

Four in the morning, dawn on its way,
The party’s over, been a long day,
Bedraggled as they weary on home,
All none the wiser, futures unknown.
Do they know now the ways that their lives will unfold,
Were their efforts worthwhile in the ways they were told,
Do they know more their passions, loves and dislikes,
Are they helped on their journey, fulfilment in sight.

So many years to yet be unravelled,
So many journeys yet to be travelled,
So many battles yet to be won,
So many things yet to be done,
As year upon year they gather again,
Disturbing their lives, feeling the pain,
Of this aimless, fruitless, pointless display,
The feted but hated RESULTS DAY.