The Anti-climax

Boys and girls sat in rows
in hundreds
with pencils and
a ticking clock up front
ticking away time.
It's all disappearing -
self and thought,
they go into the light
shining harshly overhead.
Like children they sit
where no child should be
first thirty, twenty
then ten
more minutes
and then it ends
in an anti-climax
not representative of
the weeks and months
or day before.
But anyway it ends,
no one speaks
or thinks
and then they let us go
and we leave.
Men and women
walk through the door
and it's dark outside
so putting on our coats
we walk home
mind more restful
but burden none the more
lifted.