In half a V,
a line of five geese flies to the lake.
Moments later,
another half, line of eight
flies from the lake.
I’m waiting for the perfect V of twenty
or thirty birds, but times have changed
and half the flock
must choose to take the bus
these days, or perhaps, to walk.
It didn’t touch in the right places.
It didn’t curve to the swells.
It didn’t dive into the depths
And yet it filled him up,
devoured him,
made him whole.
#JustinTrudeau #cdnpoli
During Canada’s recent election campaign, the Conservatives denigrated Liberal leader Justin Trudeau because he had a degree in literature and was a drama teacher. (He also taught French and Math). They thought that made him incapable of running a country. I have taught Drama and French. I have a degree in literature. I smiled, because I truly believe that if you can manage a high school drama class, you can manage a country. If you were a good teacher, you’ll be able to manage that country with consideration, respect, and intelligence. As I see them, I will point out how PM Trudeau’s teaching experience is making him a good leader. These posts will be in addition to my daily poetry, so you won’t miss out.
On the first day of session, Trudeau went to welcome all the MPs to Parliament Hill. He told reporters this would set the right tone, that regardless of party affiliation, that each MP is in this together, working for Canadians.
This is precisely the policy of teachers, who on the first day of school (and days subsequent, of course) stand at the doors of their classrooms to welcome students, judge their frame of mind, and set the tone of cooperation and connection within their class.
You cannot make me do this work!
This class is dumb and you’re a jerk.
I will not hand in a single paper
You cannot make me do it later.
Hey, our report cards have arrived
HE FAILED ME? (insert dramatic sighs)
I hate this school! Look at this report, see-
how all the teachers clearly hate me!
Don’t tell me that they can’t give credit
unless there’s work for them to edit.
Don’t tell me if I don’t show what I can do
then they have nothing to give them a clue.
None of this is my fault, you shrew!
I’m quitting school, so screw each and every one of you!
.
(This has terrible scansion. I apologize)
Eyes hop
Butt hops
Head hops
Legs hop
Attention hops
School is difficult
for rabbits.
Dear Magic 8 Ball:
You made me some consistent assurances.
But you lied.
Magic 8 Ball:
Do you suck?
“Yes. Definitely.”
You say.
So NOW you tell
the truth.
If
I am not beautiful
to you,
I am not the one whom you should wake next to.
you should not woo;
Lest you regret your nuptial day
and prove untrue with
someone who
is
beautiful to
you.
Turning pages in the address book
cross a line across another entry.
Turning pages
studying the names crossed out
A memorial of friends and family gone
Greetings sent in murmured prayers
to rest in peace.
She remembers long ago
when she’d catch his glances like butterflies,
flitting, fleeting, flickering glimpses,
darting from above a smile
of surreptitious wistfulness.
She’d swallow his longing
so the fluttering was within her,
and gaze back,
captivated, until they
trembled together
in the net.
Shawn L. Bird 