Question poem

Where do birds go when they die
Do they just fall from the sky
And when they fall where do they lie

Do they melt into the air
Do they sink into the earth
Or do they float like a prayer

Do coastal birds bleed into seas
Do tropical  birds blend into trees
And do city birds just cease to be

Where do birds go when they die?

Do they melt into snow or still fly high?

Where do birds go when they die
Do they just float from the sky

Feathers  and leaves dance down
Gently tum
Heading
With leaves and flowers and

love for learning 1

Love for Learning

I watch the light

go out one by one

Love for writing

Crushed

by stock phrases

Love for science

Squashed

by pursuit of exact answers

Love for learning

Slowly, surely replaced

By Exam smarts

School days stretch out

supplementary classes, typing classes, leadership courses

Love for learning,

Remains

only to be developed

In shrinking time

outside school

…

whittles

to

nothing

…

And we bow out

Love for learning dies

With a whimper not a bang

I watch the light go out in turn

The love for writing crushed by It

The phrases the cliches the artifice 

All forced into young minds and throats 

They flail and wail and cry and fight

To no avail avail avail. 

A cruel takeover of the brain

Twisted to write in a uniform way

Easy to mark perhaps perhaps 

Such drivel 

Love for Learning 2

We are gathered here today

To mourn the passing

Of our dearly beloved

Love for learning

She arrived bright-eyed

Wick ready to burn

English, Math, Science

She was ready to take on the world

We saw the light leaving

Slowly but surely

Love for writing

Crushed

by stock phrases

Love for science

Squashed

by pursuit of exact answers

Love for learning

Slowly, surely replaced

By Exam smarts

School days stretched out

supplementary classes, typing classes, leadership courses

Love for learning,

Remained

only to be developed

In the ever shrinking time

outside school

…

We watched her

whittle

to

nothing

and bow out

leaving us

With a whimper not a bang

Farewell

Science Briefing

Science Briefing
--------------
He says

Welcome! 
Today we learn about science
What your children will learn

Times have changed
No more rote learning
Syllabus advocates
Inquiry. Based. Learning.
Your kids will ask the questions

Kids will ask
Nonsense
Science! they come in eyes bright
Chemicals! Explosions!
Ha
Never fear
I teach them to ask
the right questions

I take my first sip of my tea and watch him perform

See sample question:
State difference between Plant A and Plant B

Observe! Recite!
Plant A has a weak stem.
Plant B has a strong stem.

Easy. He beams.

Excuse me sir. A tentative hand rises.
What if
(I watch him blink and gulp)
What if...
My child writes
Plant A is a creeper
Plant B is not

He steps forward,
His shoulders squared
That would not be accepted.
Creepers
Aren't even taught
At primary school

I swig my tea now like whiskey

The hand creeps back down.

He proceeds.

See Sample 2. Observe image. State difference between butterfly and bird.

Butterfly has 4 wings and bird has 2 wings.
Easy! He beams ... warily

A hand rises. Sir...what if...
He blinks.
What if...
My child says the butterfly has 3 wings.
He blinks harder.
The image you have here only shows 3 of the butterfly's wings. What if my child says the butterfly has 3 wings and the bird has 2?

He steps forward.
Resolve stiffens his shoulders
I will accept that sir
My image does show the butterfly with only 3 wings .

The Science Teacher
Demostrates scientific inquiry
Make no assumptions
Base deductions on observable data only

I down the tea now like a shot.

His parting shot.
Parents.
Make science relevant to them at home.

I leave enlightened.

Darryl david

Never say 'why can't you be more like your sisters

Kids thank your parents this is to celebrate the support you have

He's an educator and a parent of two

Science briefing with parents

He says

Welcome! 
Today we learn about science
What your children will learn

Times have changed
No more rote learning
Syllabus advocates
Inquiry. Based. Learning.
Your kids will ask the questions

Kids will ask
Nonsense
At times
Science! they come in eyes bright
Chemicals!  Explosions!
Ha
Never fear
I teach them to ask
the RIGHT questions

I take my first sip of my tea and watch him perform

See sample question:
State difference between Plant A and Plant B

Observe! Recite!
Plant A has a weak stem.
Plant B has a strong stem.

Easy. He beams.

Excuse me sir. A tentative hand rises. 
What if
(I watch him blink and gulp)
What if...
My child writes
Plant A is a creeper
Plant B is not

He steps forward,
His shoulders squared
That would not be accepted.
Creepers
Aren't even taught
At primary school

I swig my tea now like whiskey

The hand creeps back down.

He proceeds.

See Sample 2. Observe image. State difference between butterfly and bird.

Butterfly has 4  wings and bird has 2 wings.
Easy! He beams ... warily

A hand rises. Sir...what if...
He blinks. 
What if...
My child says the butterfly has 3 wings. 
He blinks harder. 
The image you have here only shows 3 of the butterfly's wings. What if my child says the butterfly has 3 wings and birds have  2.

He steps forward. 
Resolve stiffens his shoulders
I will accept that sir
My image does show the butterfly with only 3 wings .

The Science Teacher
Demostrates scientific enquiry
Make no assumptions
Base deductions on observable data only

I down the tea now like a shot.

His parting shot.
Parents.
Make science relevant to them at home.

I leave enlightened. 

Decoloniing the mind

Can you beat language out of a person
Can you fine him out of it?
When does language become King
So what happens now.. we I think in the language of the colonisers

Drowning in a sea of silence

Drowning
In a sea of silence
Her words are stuck
In a mire of despair
He can't hear what she can't say out
They glare at each other and yet
Cannot
Move in
To hug to hold to say their love

-------------------

Her words stick in her throat

Love is drowning

-------
They look at each other
Both guarded and closed
She reaches out to try to speak
But ... she can't
Masking her hurt she spits fire instead
Masking his pain he lashes back
She turns her back
He walks away
Both leave without
A hug a kiss
Drowning
In a sea of silence

I can't write a love poem

Love is simple
Love is kind
Love is non-judgemental
Love is also...

None of the above

A March summer

I can't write love poems

Love is simple
Love is kind
Love is non-judgemental
Love is also
None of the above

I want to write

My muse

I can’t stop

Writing

I may be writing crap

But I can’t stop writing

I want to write

I want to shape words to forms to meanings

To contain so much in so little

And I am so voluble!

But I like to write to think to laze to dream to waste

Write to think to write to think

I overdo it don’t I

I don’t care

Now

I write

My sweet ashwin

My dearest child!  You are mine and yet not mine.
I hold you only to see you grow and fly
Within reach and yet always out of reach

My dearest child!
She fulls colours with abandon
While her mum worries incessantly about staying within the lines

PASSING stranger! you do not know how longingly I look upon you,
You must be he I was seeking, or she I was seeking, (it comes to me, as of a dream,)
I have somewhere surely lived a life of joy with you,
All is recall’d as we flit by each other, fluid, affectionate, chaste, matured,
You grew up with me, were a boy with me, or a girl with me,        
I ate with you, and slept with you—your body has become not yours only, nor left my body mine only,
You give me the pleasure of your eyes, face, flesh, as we pass—you take of my beard, breast, hands, in return,
I am not to speak to you—I am to think of you when I sit alone, or wake at night alone,
I am to wait—I do not doubt I am to meet you again,
I am to see to it that I do not lose you

Sweet child of mine! I call you mine and yet.. you are not... Child of sun and spring
I hold you only to know... you cannot be held. Every
You
rain and dew on leaves

Macau

Cities aren't for holidays

Tiny slivers of space to squeeze
through
Chatter Clatter Honks and Clonk

Cities aren't for holidays

-----------

Chatter Clatter Clip Clop

Macau
--------

Tiny slivers of space to squeeze
T h roug  h
In shopping centres
Chatter clatter clip clop

Tiny fingers tight in hand
look left look right look left
Crick crack crick
Neck creaks  in time

A tentative foot off the kerbside ...
Busses hiss, tyres squeal
Pull back fast

Repeat

Cities aren't for holidays

Busses hiss tyres squeal
Children hanging on rails

Cacaphony reigns

Clink
Clang
Clap
Clock
Click
Clip clop

Tiny slivers of space to squeeze
Through
High pitched chatter in rapid fire
Fizz whizz pop squeak
Busses hissing tyres screeching 

Hong Kong Haiku

7 children now
On a bus hanging on tight
Hong Kong holiday

Fifteen crowd around
The table is empty still
Hong Kong holiday

Quiet resaurant
Busy street bustling outside
Food may not be good

Mami 's passing

She was a great lady. She lived well.
So maybe I should not be sad.
But I'm sad for more than just her passing. 
I grieve for the passing of an age .. of founders like her and Lee Kuan yew who helped shape Singapore and make it what it is today .
All these people grow old together and now pass on.
And we are left to carry on..  no longer under   the direct guidance of these masters.
Things will change. They have to that is the way of life.
But still... we feel don't we

We all shall pass

We all shall pass one day
Leaving
A hole... a gap
And today there is a rent in the fabric of the world.
In the shape
Of a dancer
Her arms and legs and body
Taut in space in dedication  to Nadaraj

And in the shape of a guru
Palms held up in blessing
Legions of dancers streaming from that red palm centre

Thank you mami
For the dance