No More

It’s the end of an era
and books have gone away
the party is over
no more fees to pay
no more rules to obey
no more struggling with word counts
no more student discounts
no more teacher feedback
or giving teachers feedback on feedback I didn’t like
no more lowest grade I ever had
and no more high spike
~
No more excelling
or worrying about poor spelling
no more trying to fit in
or learning statistical analysis
which is akin to learning Mandarin
no more trying to be funny
to hide a lack of comprehension
no student intervention
and no possibility of an extension
no more submission dates
or annoying my classmates 
 ~
No more being in awe 
of how much the lecturers seem to know
no more travelling to Bishop Burton
when the weatherman says he’s certain
it will definitely snow
no more searching all the restaurants
to find the most appetising
and finding it surprising
that despite the advertising
the quality hasn’t sparked an uprising
 
No more being judged
on your ability to be concise
whilst simultaneously explaining the workings 
of the universe at least twice
no more getting a lower grade
and being all dismayed
because you think it should be double
but it’s best not to start any trouble
but you can’t just let it be
because you’re me
 ~
No more searching for a reference
that you had just yesterday
the one you thought you didn’t need
and now it’s gone away
no more citations 
breaking up your flow
trying to demonstrate what you think 
that you should know
no more trying to write like a geek
on subjects you didn’t know existed until last week
and no more waiting for the grades
for what seems like decades
 ~
No more giving the best that you have
and feeling rather dejected
when the work that you submitted 
is quite harshly rejected
you compared the intelligence of a labradoodle 
with a bog standard poodle
but the lecturer wants much more
than can be found on google
 ~
now graduation’s over
it’s the end of the show
you’d think I’d be happy
but really I’m quite low
I really did love it
and I don’t want it to go
but I must turn the page 
and find some new obsessions
stop looking back
there’s no more Bishop Burton lessons
 ~
~Shay Kelly~2019~