The journey brings learning.
What do you do?
How has it evolved this way?
What do you want to change?
Eyes open.
Ears open.
So much to learn from those
who’ve gone ahead.
poem-not Justin November 27, 2015
Tall, dark, curly haired, and smiling wide,
he poses against the Coast Mountains with a beautiful girl.
“Wait. Is that Justin Trudeau?” someone asks.
No. My daughter isn’t dating the (married) Prime Minister.
The ocean sparkles beneath the blue sky,
tankers, container ships, and whales pass by.
Our Prime Minister lived and taught here.
Now he lives and works across the country.
West Coast leaves a vibe that makes an impression,
Freedom and justice look different from mountain tops.
The view is more expansive.
Young people make beginnings that may be auspicious
with time.
Perspective is everything.
poem-running November 26, 2015
“I’m just running away,” you say.
Just.
Running.
Sometimes
Escape is a good idea.
If a tyrannosaurus is after you
or a smaller villain of equal viciousness, for example.
(You know what they say about sticks and stones).
Run today,
But keep your eyes open for future alternatives.
There’s a lot of meat in a tyrannosaurus;
harvesting offers its challenges,
but I have faith in you.
poem-stop November 25, 2015
This is a stop.
But only a brief one.
Long journeys
Pre-school.
Kindergarten.
Elementary school.
Secondary school.
One bachelor’s degree.
Two bachelor’s degrees.
And finally school feels finished.
So we will celebrate as you don the cap and gown,
walk across a stage,
accept the diploma.
We’ll snap the photos and be glad
This is a stop in the educational journey
But soon it will be your own class room,
filled with your students,
and soon you’ll realize,
your education is just beginning.
poem-about you November 23, 2015
Just in time
One brief interlude
Honest and true
Necessary connections
Before departure
Intertwined arms
Release the endorphins and
Dopamine that make love.
poem-far November 22, 2015
As snow creeps down the mountain
I thread through the maze and take to the skies.
I’m only leaving you for a few days,
but my sighs reflect how bereft it is
to be on my own, far from the one who
makes my heart beat.
Far from you.
poem- class November 19, 2015
Keyboard clatter
Voices, laughter
Students research
secrets of the universe.
poem- savings November 18, 2015
When Brianna asked why the Brits have such horrible toilet paper,
“Hearts of oak are our men,” Roger intoned, “stainless steel are their bums. It builds the national character.”
Diana Gabaldon in
Dragonfly in Amber
The government is loudly raving
school districts must search for savings!
As they replaced all our paper dispensers
with giant boxes, our sphinxters grew tenser
The paper that’s extruded, (please trust this fact)
is a complete and absolute pain on the ass.
We’ve had to get tougher as the years go by
but this toilet paper, with its single thick, crispy ply,
is taking it a step too far. If *Christie’s contract wasn’t enough,
You’re scraping us raw. Yeah. These days teaching is rough.
The government doesn’t seem to register
we don’t need to have stronger character!
.
true story 
* Christie Clark is the current Premier of BC, and former Minister of Education. Teachers dislike her for her destruction and defunding of education in BC.
poem- My Refugees November 17, 2015
They escaped from beneath the thumb of a Ugandan despot
Fleeing between gazes of men armed with machine guns
And appeared in my back alley. Brown skinned. Muslim.
My friend. My first love.
His soundtrack music now echoes from our TV screens.
They escaped from Soviet Russia during the brief window when
Jews were allowed to leave
And appeared in the junior high gym on the first day of school.
My best friend. Now in Geneva,
with the Humanitarian Commission for Refugees.
They escaped from Eritrea as it tore itself from Ethiopia
Newly weds running by night, sleeping through days
And appeared at my husband’s office, to defend children
Our good friends, first social work
Then labour mediator, helping opposites agree.
They’re escaping from Syria and the religious extreme,
Risking their lives for a chance of happiness and security.
Among the crowds, will we find
New friends making new lives
In our neighbourhood, where there’s safety?
.
.
I was pondering last night, that some of the most significant people in my life came to Canada as refugees. How different my life would have been had they remained in their home countries! While I would wish them never having to live the fear of their respective escapes, how blessed am I than Canada welcomed them, and how blessed is the country because of their labours here! They have each contributed greatly to society.
My mom’s first friend in her new community as a newly wed was a refugee from Germany who owned the apartment they rented as well as a business and other apartment buildings. I’ve taught students who were refugees from the civil war when Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia dissolved. Our country was not weakened by our welcome to these desperate people; it was strengthened.
Shawn L. Bird 