Twas the night before finals, when all through the dorms,
Not a student was stirring, not even an RA.
The books were open on the desks with care,
In hopes that good grades would soon be there.

The students were nestled all snug in their desks, while visions of finals danced in their heads.
With my roommate in sweatpants and I in the same,
Had just settled our brains for a long two-hour cram.
The moon in the sky really dampened the mood.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a pile of note cards and eight sleepy students.
With someone sleeping on the couch,
The group of students a woke in a startle.

“Now we must wake up, the exam is tomorrow, for if we sleep we will only be in sorrow. To the top of the book, bring back the note cards. Now, get coffee, get more coffee, please get the coffee.”

As notebooks filled with to the brim with notes, get shoved from person to person with a glimmer of hope.
So pull back up Moodle and look at the lectures, with PowerPoints filled with lecture after lecture.

And then, in a startle, I heard across the room,
The beeping of alarms and the groaning of students.
As I drew in my head and looked up from my book, I look at the clock and saw it was six.
We all looked at each other in terror as our exam is at eight, and we started flipping pages faster and faster.

Someone whose hands were filled with coffee passed by, and my nose was filled with delight.
Their eyes—how they were tired! And the stress could be seen on their face. Their cheeks like roses and a nose all runny.
The stressed filled looks could been seen throughout the room,
Except for that kid over there, why he’s been sleeping.

The sipping of coffee echoed through the library, and the smell of it encircled my head in a hurry.
I packed up my things, and trudged out the door. Back to my dorm for a shower and some coffee.
My roommate was sleeping, oh, how I wish that was me. The stress of finals week was making me tired.
In the wink of my eye and a quick cup of coffee, it was back out the door in much of a hurry.

We spoke not a word but stared at our work,
And pulled out or scantrons and then turned off our phones.
And there was the professor with a stack of exams, and giving a nod, he handed them out.
The fear was real—did I learn anything this semester? And question after question I bubbled my answer.

And then with a shout, I was finally finished! I ran out the door without hesitation. The semester was over, I could get on with my life. But first a nap is in order and then some brunch.

Happy finals week to all, and to all good luck.