| | Some Poetry
from
The
Letter |
-
- Today is the day of trial by ordeal
- no longer the counting, the wait
- Today is the day, that marks the brow
- Blessed son of God or mark of Cain
-
- Thirteen long years to stand the test
- so many years to find the key
- The door is before me, the pit awns below
- my brow will be marked for all to see
-
- The letter will come, sheathed purely in
white
- the words stare starkly in black
- too late for the prayers, no miracles now
- the tide cannot be turned back
-
- Mothers will pray, but the answer is set
- Fathers will stare at the wall
- The bright rosy future, the hopes and the
dreams
- cannot be assured to them all
-
- Who will receive the dark mark of Cain?
- those destined to join the queues
- Who will avoid the dark mark of Cain?
- The favoured, the privileged, the few
-
- The prayers have been loud, these last
thirteen years
- but slowly the time slipped away
- Don't ask the question, the face says it
all
- For none can avoid this day
-
- The letter sits silent, no hint of its
news
- Unopened the dreams can continue
- But dreamtime must end and the price must
be paid
- Please God that I'm one of the few
-
- That letter appears like the Angel of
Death
- Some houses it passes on by
- On others it falls, like the wrath of God
- Sentencing dreams to die
-
- The letter is here, the answer is near
- Will I join the end of the queue?
- Will I be condemned to the end of my
dreams
- or be one of the favoured few?
-
- The letter is here, the price is dear
- Innocence laid bare on the altar
- The price is set, it cannot be changed
- Nothing is left to barter
-
- Please God, I'm not marked with the dark
mark of Cain
- Condemned to the end of the queue
- Please God, I'll avoid the dark mark of
Cain
- And join the favoured, the privileged,
the few
-
|
by Kathryn Griffin
Anyone who has ever had to wait for that important letter to arrive will
understand the sentiments of this poem. Originally it was written to refer
to that life shattering letter that arrived several weeks after your final
school exams, known as your Higher School Certificate (HSC) results. You had to
pass the HSC to be able to go on to University.
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