Brian Patten: The Minister For Exams

When I was a child I sat an exam.
The test was so simple
There was no way I could fail.

Q1. Describe the taste of the moon.

It tastes like Creation I wrote,
it has the flavour of starlight.

Q2. What colour is Love?

Love is the colour of the water a man
lost in the desert finds, I wrote.

Q3. Why do snowflakes melt?

I wrote, they melt because they fall
onto the warm tongue of God.

There were other questions.
They were as simple.

I described the grief of Adam when he was expelled from Eden.
I wrote down the exact weight of an elephant's dream.

Yet today, many years later,
For my living I sweep the streets
or clean out the toilets of the fat hotels.

Why? Because I constantly failed my exams.
Why? Well, let me set a test.
Q1. How large is a child's imagination?
Q2. How shallow is the soul of the Minister for Exams?

~the end~

Indeed, how wonderful is a child's innocent mind, filled with imagination and wonder for the world around him. Looking at the world with sparkling bright eyes, filled with a hunger and thirst for knowledge, to understand how the magical world around him works. Unknowing of the answer, he uses his mind and tries to understand the world, he comes up with heartwarming poetic responses but they are rejected because they are not scientific and do not make much sense. But whoever said that only factual information is acceptable. What happened to developing a child's mind, allowing him to be imaginative, allowing him to stay innocent for a while longer, allowing him to not grow up so fast, allowing him to remain unaware of the pain of life for a while longer. All these seem not to matter much more in this age of modern technology. While it cannot be denied that science and advancement is crucial in our life, let us not forget the way we looked at the world when we were young and innocent, when rainbows had pots of gold at the end, when the world was pure, white, simple, and full of joy. What's so great about conformity? It just crushes a child's creativity and free spirit.

What is the colour of love?

Love is the colour of water a man lost in the desert finds

the colour of the first rose he gave to her

the colour of the night sky he stares out into while thinking of her

the colour of the candlelight reflected in her eyes as he stares deep into them

~There is no correct answer~