Lord Malvern High School Poem by Deluke Muwanigwa

Lord Malvern High School

Lord Malvern High School
it's been standing there, stoic
for years since the seventies
like a derailed locomotive
facing east west
The carriages being the science, woodworking and metallurgy buildings scattered off the rails
And an odd shaped alien dome in juxtaposition
a swimming pool in superposition

Lord Malvern High School
in the early years stood like a white locomotive
The only passengers were of even colour
until a protracted sixteen year old war settled the ethnicity of the passengers
The locomotive welcomed all to the east west facing train without wheels
The derailed carriages catered for all
and so did the alien dome standing in juxtaposition
the swimming pool in superposition.

Lord Malvern High School
Thousands came to board the wheel less locomotive
Some white as snow
Some dark like 'tsvubvu'
Some in between
Some spoke through the nose,
denying their native tongue
Others broke the Queen's tongue and learnt to communicate the hard way;
by being punished for speaking their mother tongue.
Some were over age; having fought in the war
Some break danced, others lip synched, robot danced and became renowned Djs. Some became part of the polity.

Lord Malvern High School
The white train derailed in the middle of acres and acres of lush green fields
some passengers preferred to beat each other up on the fields
Some headbutting and chasing an odd shaped ball, sometimes making each other bleed or breaking each other's limbs
Some split into two groups of eleven and chased after a spherical ball made of cowhide
Others, behaved like apes, bouncing a ball past each other and lobbying it through a basket.
Some would stand in the sun the whole day and whack a small hard ball which others would attempt to catch.
Girls in miniskirts would shoot a small flexible ball at each other using a stick with a flattened surface.
Still, others would run for miles as if possessed by some olympic demon. Still others preferred the chessboard and other more sedate pursuits.

Lord Malvern High School
It still stands there, stoic
like a white locomotive without wheels
derailed with the science blocks being carriages thrown off the rails.
Some passengers are now engineers
Some are doctors, lawyers, bankers, teachers, you name it.
Some passengers have travelled by other means, abroad and across borders
Others have stayed home and watched the locomotive sink slowly
in a quagmire of problems

Lord Malvern High School
The derailed train without wheels
facing east west, the sciences blocks being derailed carriages
the alien dome in juxtaposition
the swimming pool and now, the library in superposition
is in dire need of help from its erstwhile passengers
Let all the passengers come together
bring a set of new wheels
Build a new east west rail line
Put all the carriages back on an international standard gauge rail line
and let Lord Malvern High School travel into the sunrise away from the sunset
carrying future generations of passengers.

It can be done by you and I. We, the former students of Lord Malvern High School.

C.06062023.