World's Hardest Test

Preparing today for the standardized test
our teacher said there was a lot to digest.
We'd have to divide by the square root of three
and learn to spell zygote, façade and marquis.

We'd need to play xylophone, trumpet and flute,
accordion, banjo, piano and lute,
recite all the capital cities by heart
and learn to take rocketship engines apart.

We'd have to speak Latin, Swahili and Greek,
learn nuclear fusion and fencing technique,
remember the fables of Persia and Rome
and crack all the codes in the human genome.

Then just when we thought that our heads might explode
from learning Chinese or dissecting a toad
she told us the very best thing she could say:
that she was just kidding; it's April Fool's Day.

--Kenn Nesbitt

Copyright © 2002 Kenn Nesbitt
All Rights Reserved

This poem appears in the book No More Homework! No More Tests!.

Comments

	On Jul 29, 2008 marcia from usa wrote: a horrible test.i like the surprise at the end.
	On Jul 23, 2008 shanice sond from uk wrote: great poem! U rock!
	On Jul 9, 2008 chelsea from enguland wrote: doing test are not that bad you should try doing some of are test DAYS
	On Jul 6, 2008 Sandra from England wrote: I am soooooooooooooooooo glad that i wasn't do that test or that I wasn't in that class.I can't even spell magican thats when i am going to spell the words in that poem. I can speak in French,English and Indian. I can only play the piano and the recorder.How about you?
	On Jun 3, 2008 emily from us wrote: awesome....except that my teacher told me to memorize it.uhoh

• View all 16 comments for this poem.
• Add a comment.

Use This Poem

Would you like to use this poem in your classroom? Would you like permission to reprint, record, recite or broadcast this poem, or set it to music? Please click on one of the following links for permissions and reprint rights information:

• Students
• Teachers
• Publishers, editors and anthologists

Fun Word Game