Exam Is Not My Enemy ~ Dr. H S Swadhin Kumar Pal Poem by Dr. H S Swadhin Kumar Pal

The lamp still burns at midnight's call,
While weary shadows climb the wall,
Books lie open like battlefields wide,
Dreams and hunger stand side by side.
Tuition fees, forms, and borrowed light,
Parents counting coins through the night,
Tight schedules choke the tender years,
Scoldings sharpen invisible fears.

Morning trains and crowded roads,
Heavy bags and endless loads,
Mock tests march like storms of pain,
Yet hope survives through every strain.
Mothers pray while fathers hide
Their silent wounds and shrinking pride.
The child keeps running, never free,
To chase a job that may never be.

Then comes the exam with guarded gates,
Long queues burdened by cruel fates,
Fares to centres drain the poor,
Corruption waits beside the door.
Paper leaks poison honest sweat,
Scams rise higher than merit yet.
Quota wars and politic cries
Cloud the truth before young eyes.
Registration fees vanish away,
But no exams arrive someday.

Thousands gather for a single chair,
While bribery breathes in poisoned air.
Zero chances for countless souls,
Broken systems swallowing goals.
Jobs become dreams sold in disguise,
Truth collapses while justice dies.
This is India standing torn,
Where hope and despair are both reborn.
Education gasps upon death's bed,
While anxious futures bow their head.

Yet exam is not my enemy still,
Nor struggle that bends the human will.
The real foe hides deep within
The roots of greed, deceit, and sin.
The poet in grief sends some vital calls
To rise though darkness fiercely falls,
To grow more fearless every day,
To clear the thorns that block the way.
Find the faults, uproot the chain,
Turn every loss to strength again.
For stronger minds and truthful hands
Can heal the wounds across these lands.