Cheat

I am a 4th-grader
And I notice many of
My fellow students cheat
On tests and quizzes but do
Not get caught and I am aware
I am lousy at cheating so it is easy
To take the high road of moral
Superiority and a lower test
Average but a decade or
So later I am giving 13th-
Grade freshmen tests
Eagle-eyed for tries
At cheating but not
Always successful.
Take-home essays
Are the worst as
Students just
Web search
Then they
Cheat
By plagiarizing
Most of their essay
So I begin requiring a
Blank Bluebook from each
Student and the entire essay
Be written in class in one hour
Covering five topics I stipulated
On their syllabus on any history
Book they have chosen to read
But make the essay voluntary
And only required if they try
To make an “A” in my class,
Otherwise even an “A” on
Their test average will be
Worth only a “B” in the
Course which exited
Angst among those
Who are used to
Cheating on a
Take home
Essay and
Pleas to
Be allowed
To use their laptop
In class to write the essay
To which I reply the essay must
Be handwritten in class in under
One hour resulting in distraught
Moans of unfair but there are
No exceptions and most just
Take a “B” and the few who
Do attempt the essay get
An “A” in the course as
I grade essays either
Satisfactory or an
Unsatisfactory
Which I point
Out is how
Their first
Boss will
Grade
Them.
One young
Lady tells me
The essay nearly
Gave her an aneurism
To which I reply that her
Angst was really an
Epiphany and now
She was ready
For any job
Interview.