ABC

Three letters make the sunlight dim
And seem to haunt my days
Taking life away from me
In so many different ways

Each subject is a priority
My pen is grooved by fingers
And even when Fridays past
The torture sets and lingers

Everyone’s grown up so fast
And I feel I can not slow
The thing that separates us,
Shows us different ways to go

My year will scatter to society
The criminals and workers
The humble and the boastful
And the majority of flirters

The irony is that this determines
What may become my fate
Yet it takes away my living
To replace it with what I hate

Longing for the week to end
Only to discover
That the families of your closest friends
Have made plans for each other

Forcing them to be the best
And ignoring what they thirst
There’s no such thing as friendships
When you’re determined to be first

Some students don’t have a choice
And must do what their told
Where will they go without orders?
How will their life unfold?

For if twelve years you are loyal
And a product of regulation
How can you make your choices?
Without self determination

So lock up your soul with self control
The ball point pen’s your buddy
Don’t breathe or eat, don’t dare to sleep
Just study, study, study

Forget the world you’ll come to join
Grow up, become a man
So what of those that refuse the life
And cannot understand

Why should they stand in line?
And do tests to judge their years
Some kids won’t make October
Succumbing to their fears

And among your mental protests
Or arguments in the head
Don’t slap the people you’ve come to know
Slap yourself instead

You’re still running in this race
Remember that you’re in line
That as soon as you were born
Your life was pre-defined

Ever since you’re ABC's
And the numbers beyond ten
High school would come after
So you can do it all again

That in six years time from then
You’d come to know and see
The gruesome tales come to life
The horrors of HSC

Look beyond the essay task
And see paths in all directions
Backwards, forwards, side to side
Filled with complications

So what to do and where to go
I won’t pretend to know
I’ll just have to do as I’m told
And just go with the flow

Then there’s the extra on the plate
The evenings and nights
The sporting clubs and art works
And staying out of fights

You’re not the only one pissed off
From bullies or your foes
It’s how they deal with this kind of thing
Try not to break their nose


Instead think of that lovely sound
Of pen falling on the table
When the final exam has concluded
And the whole thing seems a fable

And just this once when you’re alone
Kneel down to plead and pray
That your friends have not forgot you
And hope they will not stray

So if you’re lucky and you’re smart
I guess you’ll do O.K
You only get one shot at this
Before it’s lost to yesterday

Here I am dictating
Telling you all how it’s done
But I can’t put my head down
I just don’t see the fun

So instead I come to find myself
Wasting all my time
Thinking of this condition
And making the damn thing rhyme

So whichever way you tackle this
Or fight your chains and fetters
It’s just a fraction of you’re life
Remember its just three letters