Dr Fixit (301- 310)

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my thoughts further there and then.

I was glad she heard from the lectern 

what the young teacher taught and would be

truthful to herself or else a bee

would sting her and her scream 

for help would be heard right at the stream 

at the other side of the clan.

Then, she'd know an hideous plan

was what all along they had been hatching 

but henceforth I was keenly watching.

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We got to school and Mrs Bearit 

was glad to see us back. She hit

the table and we sang our hygiene song.

Of course, with the song it was wrong

not to clean your teeth and tongue.

You never kept your nails long

as you weren't a vampire.

We knew we must hang on the clothes wire 

all our washing as they would dry

and smell good and we would try 

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cut and comb our hair and keep our feet 

out of dust as lice and jiggers were benefits 

for all those doing otherwise.

Who did those nice things was wise.

We sang, clapped, jumped and stamped 

the concrete floor. With our hands

stretched in front of us after 

the song, the inspection by our teacher 

started so as to properly guide us 

to live by example that we should be serious 

304

in practicing what we preach.

Her cane swiftly would reach

your knuckles if long and dirty 

were your fingernails; and the family 

would be summoned if any kid

returned to school with dirty kits 

on the first day. Done with hygiene,

our second lesson began. Our teacher pinned 

her pointer to the board and we sang 

after her the letters of Antish. Our tones rang

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with excitement from the first letter 

to the last. At some points, we did falter 

but were corrected by our teacher 

and throughout we did it with laughter

and merriment. Done with the exercise,

we were asked, our left hands met the right 

as we clapped for ourselves. We sat down.

Then, we were shown how each sound 

in Antish could be formed with the letters,

starting from the basics. Our teacher

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began with the verbs. 'Seh' is to see

or look. (Someone said they needed to pee.)

When she was done with the pupil,

she returned to the board. The chalk scribbled 

the word 'tork' which painted the deed

the pupil in the urinal just did.

'Borh' was the next and it means take.

The pupil returned, washed hands and moved to slake

his throat at the corner the water 

was stored in a big container.

307

There was no water bottle in our time.

You drew near a large container, after a sign 

or permission by our teacher after 

you'd asked you needed to slake your throat with water,

with your own cup and filled it with the one on the cover 

of the big clay pot used as water container.

While doing this, the eyes of the monitor 

or teacher were on you. We were tutored 

strongly at home and in school on the basics 

of hygiene. 'Hukara Mbakara' - love or hate it -

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did bless our clan with a well-planned city

where in the right point sat the right facility:

park for carts, market, rubbish dump,

military barracks, police post, post office, stadium,

hospital, prison, leisure park and school.

Antburg was the first during Colonial Rule

that was made a model for governance 

at the local level; and importance 

was put on us imbibing core values 

from inside to the outside so they were rules 

309

that were foisted on us right from childhood.

Every kid from every neighbourhood 

knew they shouldn't insult the night-soil man.

If you did, he could hatch a wicked plan:

he'd dump all of the materials in his bucket 

on your threshold. If we had, mark it,

night-soil point in every compound 

and at night, masked men would pound

their boots in and cart the loads away 

and the town would again in the day

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look and smell clean and fresh, then cleanliness 

was inherent in us. Any messiness

would attract punishment, at home 

and in school. Again, Mrs Bearit wasn't prone

hitting any child unnecessary.

She was keen to guide us patiently.

Sometimes, we would rush to drink

from the cup on the cover but at the brink

we would be recalled to do what was apt.

Appropriate behaviour was shown by the lad.