Mr Henderson Coughs

Mr Henderson was regarded as affable and generous But since his cancer diagnosis he'd become irritable and cantankerous His students at the comprehensive had started to take notice And nicknames began to spread like spiderwebs of whispers Sent as voice messages On contraband devices Alongside images of dictators With Mr Henderson's face pasted crudely on top The crowded corridors softly sniggered and mocked As he spluttered and coughed his way through each lesson Until this soon too became a trait ripe for parody and impersonation Mr Henderson's coughs echoed in the throats of the callous young The only difference being when they coughed Their handkerchiefs weren't stained with blood He'd had enough His fuse shortened Tether lessened And constricted into a coiled spring Which began to bubble and boil And put the fear of God into him It was the day before his chemotherapy was due to begin On a rainy Tuesday Oppressive and grey His final class of the afternoon had just started He called out the first name on the register The reply came – A hacking mock cough Mr Henderson lost it Mr Henderson snapped Mr Henderson leapt forward And indiscriminately attacked The students sprang from their seats in a state of disbelief And scattered and ran Some tried to fight back But it was no use Needless to say, he missed his appointment the next day And then declined to rearrange it to a more convenient date He hoped this would act as penance for the way that he'd behaved He hoped that this decision to self-flagellate Would help him on his way from early grave to pearly gates He hoped the universe had some kind of divine order and shape But who knows? Who can say?