GaoKao
Virginia Carraway Stark

If there was a battle cry
And all the years were packed
Into an afternoon
Of luck and hard work
The future determined
By what that day might bring
I don’t know that
I’d be more or less capable
Than any of my peers
I can see why the stars
And omens in the sky
Would matter more than anything
If things were done in such a way
With nary a second chance
In a land where no one stands
Above the others
In any but a negatory way
How sorry it would be
To have your entire life
decided in a moment
An afternoon determining
The future path
Who you may marry
The approval of your ancestors
Where your kids would go to school
The sort of job you could acquire
All from marks with your pencil
That is the battle cry
In a land far away
So it has been for thousands of years
Likely so it will always be
Ghosts are made by failure
Despair throwing people into the arms of death
Leaving the living to deal with demons
All for the pass or fail on a test!