Why I found that offensive

You think you are a friend and you can say anything you want ?
You just abused her on stage and she could only hug you to pretend it didn't hurt
She thought you were her fucking friends
Nice act guys 
Maybe she's okay with it
But you just killed it for all of us
Like any pretty woman is fair game for all kinds of sexist jokes and objectification

Slaying Dragons Version 3

Slaying Dragons

You wanna know which dragon I wanna slay?
It's the History Dragon

The one that one won't lie down and slink back
to the filth it rose from

White hoods
Red Swastikas
Burning Torches
still breathing fire
today

Today!!!

Barely
70 years, since the Holocaust ended
50 years, after the Jim Crow laws were abolished
20 years, since the Apartheid died
Not even a lifetime

One that rises from Stench and Rot

Slay it - it lies still... for a few years
Rears his fiendish head above the smouldering ashes
spewing filth and smoking garbage
Trying to make everything White Again

White-Wash History
Start clean, fresh, white
innocent as a new-born babe
Grow into Fine People
Crush others to fine dust under our heels
again and again and again

Shall we stomp this dragon out now
and wait?
It will rise again

Feel it.. vile, sneaking beneath our feet
snaking within our ribs,
burning our throats
It speaks
with OUR VOICE!

Persona poem revised

They said I'll never make it
But here I am
At the top of the world 

I press a button
And boom kaboom
They better not mess with me

I can have any woman I want-
Even my daughter.
Pity she married trash .

The Sun hid his face
Behind the moon
It wasn't me!

Harvey dropped by
With a bucketload of water
Wasn't me either !!

A woman was killed at the Ville
Fine people did it
Very fine people

Pence can only say
Napoleon is always right
I must work harder

Laugh

I won't stop
Till America
Is white again

Ebb and flow of time

Tyrants have always been there
And humanity has always prevailed
At a cost at a cost
How foolish of me
To think I alone could escape the ravages of time and history
I can only pray
A quick look into history reveals the bloody way we reached here today

Rama vs ravana and illangai burnt. Coz the leader chose not to listen to advisors and did his own thing

The great war of the Mahabharata
Between pandavas and duryodana.. another leader who never listened to advisors and did his own thing

Then history recorded

Nanking massacre
Holocaust
The despicable slave trade
Colonialism
Ww1
Ww2
And now today

Earth will survive. She is built to.
This earth will revolve for millions more years to come
With us or without
Most likely without
How shall we light out
Fire and fury
Or just an achoo
Not with a bang but a whimper

What can soothe my beating heart 
Whom can I turn to
Kids tell me
Devotional songs

Despicable

The most despicable speciman of man is now president of the United States and my blood is boiling

A category 4 hurricane is approaching the USA next week. The country witnessed a solar eclipse last week. While a solar eclipse is magnificent I believe in ancient lore it is a sign of ill omen. Possibly duryodana was born in an eclipse.

Even as these things happen in nature he unleashes several controversial plans over the weekend.
1. He's banned transgender people from enlisting
2. He's pardoned a judge who had been jailed for blatant racial profiling of Mexicans
3. Something else.
Oh and did I mention north korea rested more missiles recently ? And this guy said he'd release fire and fury if they were threatened. To which they replied they'd have an engulfing fire ready.

Maybe he thinks it's a joke.

He's a joke.  DEADLY Joke.

Why? Coz he's got nothing to lose. He's a billionaire.
He doesn't care about the country. He cares about himself.
So his enemies get the boot. Heck what good or bad that does to the country or the world.
So.. He doesn't like Muslims Blacks Mexicans and transgender people.
He thinks women are just there for his pleasure  and it's only her physical attractiveness to him that matters .

All this adds up.
He would have put up the Muslim bam if the courts hadn't ruled against him.

Country and world are in peril . I don't think the eclipse and hurricanes are a coincidence. Just saying.

Ode to a nightingale

Keats masterpiece. One of them anyway. I just read it today. So beautiful I read it three times. It appreciating it now.

Have resolved go teach kids poetry myself! They love it. Have planned poems for each kid of different lengths.

Classics
Like
Tiger tiger burning bright
Hawk roosting
The eagle
Little lamb
How doth the crocodile
Jabbwewocky
The panic bird

Oh almond tree

Sweet almond tree
That provided us such shade
In the simmering Sun
Boughs bent low
Over gentle lovers so
sweet repose
Watching the waves'
Ebb and flow
Meditating
On her gentle swell

Before life swelled
To bliss and busy joy
The golden arc
Of three sweet babes
over the next five years

Oh almond tree
You were my daffodils 
To visit me at quiet moments
A ball for the beating heart
In labour
And in love

I see you still
By that Sandy beach
Sheltering us
From the drowsy heat
Watching the waves shimmer on the horizon
All of my life waiting
For me

It is a blessing

It is a blessing
To be a minority
To know the slurs of racist tongues
For then we know what much of the world feels
We can understand empathise
And maybe not do the same

For those born into privilege
So much harder it is for them
To know the pains of the other .
To therefore be kinder
And speak up for them 

Fun phonics poems

Persona poem

They said I'll never make it
But here I am
At the top of the world

I just say what I want
And laugh at the party
Mopping up after me

I press a button
And boom kaboom
They take me seriously

At my age I can have any woman I want
Even my daughter
Pity she married trash

A woman got killed at the Ville
Fine people did it
Very fine people

They read my code
They see me smile
And poor pence
Can only say
Napoleon is always right
I shall work harder

And I laugh
I play this game
And I won't stop
Till America
Is white again 

They say
The sun hid his face coz of me
And Harvey blew harder than he meant to coz of me
That n.k. is aiming missiles at us
Coz of me

Wave those flags
Those hoods
That red symbol

America will be great again

Lessons

In this last week I have learnt a lot.
I need to stop asking how can people be like this believe this
Open my eyes and accept. There are people who believe this.
Then plan what I  can do in some small part to change this. I'm am educator. Tgis is my job . I am a citizen of this world. This is my responsibility
I have the benefit of having studied history and literature. I have a duty to call out racism .

If each of us does this. The world could change. For every misguided soul who believes people of a certain race or colour or religion or gender  is superior to another

Every person is deserving of dignity and respect. And that includes how we treat our foreign workers our domestic workers.

And end with words by Mandela
People have been taught to hate
They can be taught to love
For love comes more naturally than hate

my FB post 

So in this last week, I've learnt a lot. 

I've learnt not to exclaim, "How can people still believe in white supremacy", and accept, my gosh, there are people who actually believe in "white supremacy", that people of a certain race are superior to others. 

and with this acceptance comes a certain resolve, to do something about it, even if it as little as raising awareness and starting conversations about these tricky  matters.

I am educator, it is my duty. 

I am a parent, it is my duty. 

I have had the benefit of studying History and Literature, I have a duty to call out racism. 

Most of all, I am a citizen of this world, it is my duty, it is our duty, every single one of us. 

For every misguided soul who actually believes that one is superior to the other by virtue of their race, their religion, their colour, their gender, we need another 10 who say no! no one is superior to another. 

Every person is deserving of dignity and respect. That includes our foreign workers and domestic workers in Singapore. These things in Charlottesville are a just a shadow of what could happen anywhere. and I end this post quoting Obama who quoted Nelson Mandela. 

That “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

When you have a chance

When you have a chance to make a stand and you don't
Mike pence

People's president

People's president
Wants to make America white again
Heck cares the world
Has people explain away his actions his words

So disturbed

America Charlottesville  2017 August 11 and 12.
White supremacist rallies. Nazi symbols ! Just kill me ok.

And then. Sg. Racial harmony day. What a farce. A primary school parent complains how can school say kids can wear Filipino attire for racial harmony day.

Then of course US and n Korea exchanging war of words all coated in alliterative imagery. Threatening nuclear war.

Does America have a back up plan? Are they grooming their next leader or not?
This one. You can sense they all trying to explain his words his actions like we would when our four year old acts up. He's cranky . He's tired. What he means to say is....

Slaying dragons

You wanna know which Dragon I want to slay
It's the history dragon
The one that won't lie down and sink back to the filth it rose from

White dragons with white hoods 
red swastikas
Torches in hand 

That can still breathe fire
Today

Barely

70 years
after the end of the holocaust
50 years
after jim crow laws were abolished
20 years
after the end of the apartheid

One that rises from the ashes of filth and not

Not even a lifetime

Slay

Never again never meant never again
It just meant
Never not again

Slay him and he lies still for a few years
Then rears his fiendish head above the smouldering ashes
Spewing filth and smoking garbage
Trying to make it white again/ make America white again
Wash white wash history start fresh clean white and stamp on all others again and again and again
Let's stomp him out now and wait
He will rise again
Vile sneaking beneath our feel our heels
Snaking within our ribs and tickling our throats
Just wait
This dragon cannot be vanquished

White supremist rally
How on earth can anyone choose to be part of such a thing?
White supremacy. Rubbish. Garbage. Filth. Rottenst of the human heart on display

And now I know
Lack of education
Not everyone knows about the atrocity of the holocaust
Of what the swastikas meant

Or am I being naive
They know and believe in it?
That's more horrifying

White dragons with white hoods
With red swastikas
With torches in hand 

I want to slay
Forever

The one that dares to wear a white cloak and swastikas

Which  proudly ... proudly proclaim to be 
White supremacist

Breath without air

Just a beautiful book. Exploration of death.
Every day of life brings us closer to death
In a sense we are dying as soon as we are born

I wanna grow old with you

Saro my love
I want to grow old with you
A long time ago I said I love you more and more every day I know you
We've had ups and downs
But still I say
I love you more and more everyday
My sweet sweet love 

Another one bites the dust

FKannan and sham are likely migrating at the end of this year. They have found employment for him schools for them looking for rental places now
I was expecting this. So not as she'll shocked as I was when subair left
Still. I'm the only one here. Siva and us
I don't feel myslef exploring leaving as much now
My work is meaningful for me
Kids are happy
Maybe when they are in p6.
I mean I've wanted to live abroad for three years. I could do that with my PhD at some point.
What's with our system that is choking people out. Sending away great teachers and doctors and kids????

I'm feeling a bit numb to be honest.

So everyone leaves and I'm the only fool left here. Me and their parents. Instead of My Kids flying the coop it's my friends .

Shiva parvathy family

It's actually so modern the family

Murugan is born from Shiva' s third eye. Brought up by kirthika maidens till parvathy gathers the six babies on her hands embracing him and he becomes one. Not her child directly but Shiva's and she accepts him wholeheartedly.

Then she makes her own son from santhanam and breathes life into him. Her own son. And after a tussle ... Shiva accepts him as his son too whole heartedly.

Quite beautiful ya

If I knew

If I knew I had but a year to live
How would I live
What would i do

I may not do what i am doing now
I love lit
I love education
I love my kids

If I had a year to live
If quit work and live with my kids
Watch them grow

Health is so precious

America

America had the best people's president
They went three steps ahead (for them) and then 10 steps back

Elected a black president in 2008 and the most racist misogynist ignorant belligerent white president in 2016. Like to make up for the mistake of electing Barack.

Race skepticsm runs deep deep deep. U know I'm feeling all the more that that s the reason trump got in

When it was between Barack and Hillary Clinton... people chose the black man over the woman
When it was trump over hilary Clinton  people chose the white trash over the woman

1. People in America feel they still camt trust women over men to lead them
2. People still feel a white president will make America great again.

America was at its greatest when they elected a black president and now at it's lowest. Lowest. World standing confidence everything.

Grass

The grass and leaves crunch underfoot
Yesterday's rain was not enough to unbrown the grass

If the world were to end tomorrow

If the world were to end tomorrow
What would i like to be doing now
I'd want to gather around my kids
Play with them
Hug them close
And pray the end is swift and painless

Would I want them to survive without me
-pause-
Why yes
The human soul is primed towards survival

But what if I was leaving them in a nuclear wasteland
In love and kindness
I may wish them dead with me

How morbid

Then again
Maybe they will be heroes on a new world
How can I deny them that chance of life out of desire to save them from hardship ?

My thoughts on the book club

The book club was good. Informative. Not a book club but a lecture really.

However I can't help feeling we've squandered a chance to demonstrate good pedagogy the kind we want to see in our teachers. We missed a chance to demonstrate knowledge construction and the key role writing and dialogue can play .

I need to role model. So going to invite Debbie and su zhen and June and maybe kankan to view and participate and critique the session. To explore how it can be done differently from telling.