The wells of Nigeria
are poisoned from the salt
of mothers’ tears.
#bringbackourgirls
poem- Measuring May 10, 2014
Video with my narration is in the previous post, but here’s the written version:
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Measuring
Shawn L. Bird
This is me.
The standardized test says,
“She’s a C.”
But no standardized test
can measure my capacity.
The provincial exam or S A T
does not evaluate my reality.
A test does not see
my creativity
my audacity
my tenacity
my congeniality
No test can reveal
my totality.
They say
a standardized test demands gravity,
but I say,
it is a depravity
to define our youth with such rationality!
This is me.
No standardized test can measure
who I will be.
video poem- Measuring
Here’s a video poem I made for a presentation on issues in standardized testing for my Faculty of Education Master’s class on assessment at University of British Columbia (Okanagan campus) (aka UBC-O).
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April in the Library = Pushpin Poetry! May 8, 2014
I love this idea! I want to do it in my library, so I’m saving it here. 🙂
PBL JH students celebrated National Poetry Month this year by building micropoems on the bulletin board using a word bank and pushpins. I was so impressed by some of the results, I had to share! 
poem- marmot love May 7, 2014
Along the road
the marmots sit on their haunches
beautiful fur coats
glistening shades of light and dark.
They sit, admiring the view,
enjoying the sun,
sharing chirping whistles while
watching the antics of the tourists:
Canada Geese in town
for a romantic vacation.
Two marmots crane their necks
to watch the blue heron
high-stepping in the marsh
and cuddle next to one another;
Marmot-ly loving
on their porch
watching the world go by.
.
.
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Marmots are pudgy rodents, about 20″ long, and prone to curious investigation. They kind of look like beavers, but with a bushy squirrel tail. There is a colony living in the ditch along the TransCanada Hwy at Canoe, BC that I pass every day. They are very cute. If you disturb them, they whistle warnings to one another. They’re pests, because they dig, but they don’t seem to annoy anyone where they’re at right now (a few years), so hopefully they’ll be allowed to stay. They’re quite entertaining. Yesterday one rose up on his haunches to balance on his back legs like a pudgy little man as I drove by, and made me laugh out loud.
Here’s a nice photo of one: http://www.cascadesgallery.com/image.php?set=9&id=2
poem- planning May 6, 2014
Ponder the options
think for awhile
jot down the image
consider and smile.
Take steps, even small ones,
stay out of the holes,
and before you know it
you’ll reach your goal.
poem- pocket love May 5, 2014
Your love is
sewn into my pocket
stitched between my seams
embroidered on my psyche
threaded through my day
tying me in knots.
poem- putting a roof on it
The early morning knock
is answered with blurry eyes.
A too bright face asks if
a vehicle needs out of the garage.
The stomping above our heads
jarring us to wakefulness,
makes this so much more
Monday
than usual.
Large trucks high centre on
our steep driveway, whirling tires
Asphalt is scraped, rasping.
Scraping, scouring off the shingles.
Thudding as they hit the ground.
This Monday morning,
Coffee is required.
I’m leaving for work early.
This is too much Monday
for me.
Shawn L. Bird 