Paddle Steamer - by Class 10, Barnard Grove School

This poem is a collective work, edited by Kirsten Luckins, from the work of the pupils of Class 10, Barnard Grove Primary School, Hartlepool, at a Workshop held on board the paddle steamship Wingfield Castle, as part of the 'Heorism & Heartbrerak' Project:

Paddles, heavy as a million rocks,  

Heavy as ten thousand mountains,

Pushed her through the sea.

In the engine room,

Dirty as mud in a flooded field,

The sailors’ skin and clothes turned grubby as mud.

How old is the engine room?

As old as the Titanic, as old as the Stone Age?

It is as dusty as a path that has lain one hundred years.

The engine inside is dangerous,

As vicious as an active volcano,

Eating up coal as black as your worst nightmare.

From the furnace a light shines through the boiler room,

As bright as the searching sun on a stunning sunny day.

Outside, the lifeboat ring as rough as a splintered branch,

The deck as dusty as an abandoned mantelpiece –

But in the sun, everything is bright as a multi-coloured rainbow.

Smoke once billowed out of the chimney,

Tall as Big Ben striking midnight,

Standing proudly, viewing its admirers,

Taller, tall as a giant, taller than a skyscraper!

Inside, the old saloon is a café now,

Quiet as the countryside on a summer Sunday,

Posh as a delicate teapot,

Shiny as a silver house, polished,

Glistening like the sea covered in glitter, reflecting the sun.

It is a beautiful as a rose with no rust.

Nothing there is cold, except the old brass bell,

That is as cold as ice on a winter morning,

And as loud as a thousand screams.

Mrs. R. Stephenson: Class 10
Ellie Burgon, Adam Deer, Ellen McDonough, Amy Salvin, Evie Taylor, Jay Weatherill, Sophie Healey, Demi Fielding, Reece Delaney, Ben Robinson, Teighan Stuart, Jack Teal, Jessica Donnelly, Amy Ferguson, Toby Deer, Jay Salmons, Adam Mincher, Annabelle Kaid, Erin Roberts, Megan Blades, Ellie Mason, Paige Holland, Brodie Purcifer.

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