Death By Scantron

By Jessica Yoffe

The deadliest enemy in the classroom comes in printed green

A paper trap designed to ruin the scene

Filled with tiny circles waiting for graphite

Writing down every answer beneath the bright light

A pencil mark that wasn’t meant to stay

Steals the points you earned and throws the score away

Crammed little rows, ready to trick my eyes

One line missed and my whole test dies

Did I bubble Version A when I had Version B?

Now a machine gets to decide if I fail effortlessly

I slide in the paper with my stomach in knots

Leaving my future to a sheet full of dots