All on Board?

The train pulled out of the station

Not all seats were taken,

The ones who were not on board

Must have felt forsaken.

Leaving no one behind

Was the ad for this train company

But it hurriedly left the train station

When all were not ready.

Many were left on the platform

Through no cause of their own,

Add to these the many others

That had not even left their home.

They did not have

Or could not afford the Internet,

The cost of the requisite devices

Could not be met.

In the skill sets and the knowledge

They were far behind

But the train pulled out unexpectedly

And they were not on time.

The usual destinations

Still had to be reached,

Few time adjustments were given

There was to be no breach.

Those for whom life was a struggle

Even when it was normal

Now had a greater set back

In this time of COVID upheaval.

There was an understanding

It could not be business as usual

And so, one would have expected

That timelines would be more adjustable.

 

But after a brief warning

The train had pulled out

And it didn’t really matter

How the stranded passengers cried out.

There have since been cries

From some on the train

For whom the journey started well

But have become a strain.

Some services have stopped working

With complaints on every side,

It is almost as though

Some passengers are being denied.

Some are painting a great picture

Of the ongoing journey

While not a few others

Are highlighting its obvious misery.

 

Could the train not have been delayed

For just a while longer?

Why was there this rush to depart

Only bearing the stronger?

Must the quality of the service

Be for a particular few

And lip service and promises only

Be all the most vulnerable is due?

Can the train be now stopped

For a necessary review

Or, would this reflect unfavourably

On the administrative crew?

We often ruminate about those

That are falling through the cracks

But for some hidden reason

These have become deliberate tracks.

When will we determinedly decide

To get rid of the cracks

So that they are none to fall through

Or in which to become trapped?

Are we really serious

Of having all passengers on board

Or, is this education destination

Only for those who can afford?

For, the train has pulled out

And not all seats have been taken,

It seems to me, my erudite friends,

That some have been forsaken.

There may have been a feigned call

Sorry, that should be ‘faint’

But many could not have answered...

To me, this is rather quaint.

Stewart Russell © May 2020