Thursday May 31

here is something to start the day

Wednesday May 30

Here is the poem for the day

 You Begin
Margaret Atwood

You begin this way
This is your hand
This is your eye
That is a fish, blue and flat
On the paper, almost
The shape of an eye.
This is your mouth, this is an O
Or a moon, whichever
You like. This is yellow.

Outside the window
Is the rain, green
Because it’s summer, and beyond that
The trees and then the world,
Which is round and has only
The colours of these nine crayons.

This is the world, which is fuller
And more difficult to learn than I have said.
You are right to smudge it that way
With the red and then
The orange: the world burns.

Once you have learned these words
You will learn that there are more
Words than you can ever learn.
The word hand floats above your hand
Like a small cloud over a lake.
The word hand anchors
Your hand to this table,
Your hand is a warm stone
I hold between two words.

This is your hand, these are my hands, this is the world,
Which is round but not flat and has more colours
Than we can see.

It begins, it has an end,
This is what you will
Come back to, this is your hand.

Tuesday May 29

Geddy Lee from Rush at the Jays game...

Here is the poem for homework for today:

Seven Ages of Man

William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

From “As You Like It,” Act II. Sc. 7.                     ALL the world ’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His Acts being seven ages. At first the Infant,         5 Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms. Then the whining School-boy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the Lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woful ballad         10 Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a Soldier, Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard; Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the Justice,         15 In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances,— And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered Pantaloon,         20 With spectacles on nose, and pouch on side; His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,         25 That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness, and mere oblivion,— Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. The teacher also took a brief peek at this poem ... which is also a classic Canadian rock song.

Monday May 28

So ... this is late being posted to this blog.

We took a look at several pieces of poetry for the Task 2 presentations of poems.

we got this poem for homework:

Prologue to Romeo and Juliet:

Two households, both alike in dignity

(In fair Verona, where we lay our scene),

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life,

Whose misadventured piteous overthrows

Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.

The fearful passage of their death-marked love

And the continuance of their parents' rage,

Which, but their children’s end, naught could remove,

Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage—

The which, if you with patient ears attend,

What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.

Thursday May 24

Here is the poem for the day:

Nothing Gold can Stay

Robert Frost

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Wednesday May 23

Right on, our unit on Poetry continued today.

Today we read Ode to a Grecian Urn in class. I think it was awesome, but students disagreed with me.

All good, all good.

In any case, we also heard Loki read this poem




and then we did this poem for homework, before getting more of the PoeT presentations done.

There were no signs by Irving Layton

By walking I found out

Where I was going

By intensely hating, how to love.

By loving, whom and what to love.

By grieving, how to laugh from the belly.

Out of infirmity I have built strength.

Out of untruth, truth.

From hypocrisy, I wove directness.

Almost now I know who I am.

Almost I have the boldness to be that man.

Another step

And I shall be where I started from.

Tuesday May 22

So ... right. We are back at it again, Daniel...

which is a poetry term ... Allusion ...

In any case, we watched this poem and then did the poem "Teachers" by Rosen for homework.

Teachers  by Michael Rosen

Rodge said
“Teachers” they want it all ways
You’re jumping up and down on a chair
or something
and they grab hold of you and say,
“Would you do that sort of thing in your own
home?”

So you say “No”
and they say
“Well, don’t do it here then”

But if you say “Yes, I do it at home”
they say
“Well we don’t want that sort of thing
going on here
thank you very much”

“Teachers, they get you all ways”
Rodge said

Friday May 18

So ... it was "Carnival Day" here, resulting in a total of seven students into class today.

We did do a few things, including doing two Poet (Task 3) Presentations. One mentioned a Governor General's Award and a Writer in Residence position.

In any case, we also did this poem as a part of the Journal (Task One)

On Samsonite Assembly Line 72

riveting suitcases

            Rivet a blue one, rivet a blue one, rivet a blue one, rivet

a blue one, rivet a blue one, rivet a blue one, rivet a blue one, rivet a blue one, rivet a blue one, rivet a blue one

   rivet a blue one  rivet a blue one

    rivet a blue one                                             rivet a blue one

    rivet a blue one rivet blue rivet one a blue blue blue

                        THANK GOD A RED ONE!

    rivet a blue one rivet a blue one rivet one hundred rivet

an hour rivet rivet blue rivet suitcases rivet rivet can’t rivet rivet wait rivet

for rivet coffee rivet rivet break

Finally, we watched this: