Nightmare of a test

I don’t know if this is posttraumatic stress

But a recurring nightmare, I confess

Is one I have related to school examinations

I wonder if so traumatic was my education

As a child that for life I’ve been scarred

Overcoming the dread of a test is hard

*

In nightmares I reach the test center late

Or during the test I procrastinate

I am unable to complete the test timely..

And then I wake up, my heart pounding wildly

*

To be clear, periodically I still have to appear

For tests in my field, so far my fears

Have never materialized, I always complete the test

In terms of punctuality, I am at my best

*

Yet this is the most common theme of my nightmares

(Thankfully bad dreams are quite rare)

I’d like to know I am not the only one

Traumatized by this necessary part of education…