Consolation prizes are always small and devastatingly adequate.
We've all taken tests - if you haven't - I want your secret.
We (my study group) spent two weeks at my place (6th Ave).
prepping for finals - which are now only half complete.
These tests take everything we've learned this year in separate modules, like anatomy, physiology, pharmacology - and compresses them, like doppio - questioning not just the fact, but where it belongs, and how it fits the whole. Eeeeek!
Working in a group makes studying feel less like punishment,
and more like prep for a game we might win.
There are four of us - Emma, Léah, Chloé and me.
Emma’s all sharp synthesis - capable of organizing any chaos,
Léah spots the strange detail, the hidden thread, that no one else saw,
Chloé brings speed - she has near total-recall,
and I'm good at naming patterns and tying up loose-threads
- Said slightly more poetically..
We’re optimized girls
who score higher than everyone else
high-yield, low-maintenance types
hydrated by iced coffee and espressos.
We know the names of things
we know you inside out
We've learned to perform concern
in a medically appropriate register,
because we know what's theoretically possible.
We abbreviate, speaking in acronyms like Navajo code-talkers,
because our frank opinions are socially discouraged.
We've learned to speak clearly about bodies,
while getting less time to enjoy our own.
Our tests are half-way done. I think If we stopped - just stopped doing the work - the silence would be enormous, like stepping out of a machine, that was louder than we knew - but no one’s stopping.
.
.
Songs for this:
Smash by Born At Midnite
Paraiso by Pearl & The Oysters