An hour is
60 minutes
3600 seconds
a lifetime.
haikus- pass May 13, 2014
Pass word needs 8
characters, a symbol, a capital,
and a number.
.
For your own security
Don’t write down your
user name or pass word!
.
Remember everything
even if you only use the site
once a year.
Haiku- Nigerian mothers May 11, 2014
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:
.
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).
.
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.
.
.
.
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- duck! May 2, 2014
The men blaze the trail
boldly go forward
willing to risk
to achieve the destination.
And so today
mallard male zips across the highway
boldly flapping, barely
missing the VW missile
travelling 100 km/hr.
Not so fortunate his lady friend
flapping five feet behind.
Ladies
sometimes it is unwise
to blindly follow your mate.
poem- inheritance May 1, 2014
My son,
I gave you my nose:
a perky nose, not vaguely classic.
I gave you my hair:
the colour, the texture, the volume
so you should keep it
(be nice to your poor balding father,
don’t rub that in).
I gave you my height
(sorry about that).
I gave you my obsessive nature:
all into the current interest
for as long as the interest lasts.
I gave you my shoe lust
and an appreciation for the unique.
I’m not sure where you got that charm
that drags the ladies to you,
or the way you stretch your dimes
or your athletic discipline.
It’s fun to see your inheritance
blinking back at me from those
lovely, hazel eyes.
.
.
Mother and son on Mont Juic in Barcelona
Shawn L. Bird 