TFE's Poetry Bus: It's An Ark This Week!

Eschewing this week's obvious prompt (I love you Mum! But no poem for you this week.) I have a prompt and a masterplan.

Prompt first:

I want a poem, any sort of poem, about an animal. More specifically, any one of these animals:

1) The Dolphin

2) The Gecko

3) The Panther

4) The Bushbaby

5) The Archerfish

6) The Kingfisher

7) The Harrier

8) The Ring-tailed Lemur

But if none of these take your fancy, any animal will be just fine.

Now, the Masterplan.

I know that this is the Bus, but it's Arthritis Care Week (UK) at the start of May, and I work for Arthritis Care. In order to get the week off to a strangely literary start, I am in the process of planning a reading party at the University of Glasgow involving students on the various Creative Writing degree courses. In order to make the party a bit of a fundraiser too, I'm also planning to have a making pamphlets/artist's books workshop-py day beforehand, with what's produced going to raffle or auction on the night. I'm getting very into altered books at the moment (when you take an existing book/brochure/paper thing and change it), and I have a fantastic brochure with pictures of the above listed animals in it. My intention is to produce a one-off pamphlet for the big night, and to use some Bus contributions as the text. It's not like being published - this is an objet d'art.

Anyway, I do not intend to use anyone's poem without their permission, so if you ride the Bus this week I'll get in touch about using your poem.

Is that clear? I hope that's clear.

I'll do the links post on Monday. Which is the school holidays. Do you realise Scottish children are only at school for eight days in the whole of April? Pity me. And ride The Bus!

All the links to the poems are in the post above. Up top. There!

Tonight we drink to heartache

Tonight we drink to heartache, and we can't get drunk enough

You crush each individual grape between your toes.

Your eyes are numb as you sense the juices flow.

And we curl our fingers around your momentary love.

We lay down in your coalstack but we are not warm enough.

You crush each individual grape between your toes.

Each lover kisses your drying blood to life before he goes.

We hold your head steady in your pool of eternal love.

We light ourselves a fire around the secrets that you grow.

Each moment is eternal that you crush between your toes.

And before you bury us we hold you long and deep.

Eternal is a moment in your drunken dreamless sleep.

Watery Wednesday: Tri kids

http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

The kids at Pt Chevalier School had a week of fun because Mark Weedon and his boys from Trikids had been in school. They had fun cycling, racing and swimming for their triathlon. Mark and Rick set up this programme which gave the students a training session and then a triathlon event.

Mark came with his Avanti bikes, which is great. Two of my students told me that they had never ridden a bike before. This was their best day. I didn't have a bike when I was in primary school. It makes me wish I was a student again.

From their website:

Sport is about participating, achieving and learning. TriKids™ aim is to support children into sport. Our programmes based around triathlon (swimming, cycling, running) are for primary school aged children and schools. Motivating and educating children to lead healthy lifestyles, developing fundamental movement skills and confidence through challenges and enjoyment are integral to our mission.

Pathways from school to club are integral in keeping children involved in sport. We will form relationships with clubs within the Auckland region to assist children transition into youth sections of clubs. TriKids™ will work to build the school to club link and provide opportunities for children to continue their involvement in sport.

Innovative school programmes and opportunities based around TriKids™ clubs will make us leaders in the field of sport for children. Organised events and promotion of athletes and triathletes will help to foster the continued development of triathlon as a leading sport in New Zealand.

Thanks to our teacher Kath Leighton for organising and liaising this event. The children of course will be looking forward to a repeat next year.

The teachers' views: "A really well organised event. Mark and his team gave good, clear instructions, and catered well to the diverse needs and abilities of the students."

May be next year, Mark, the teachers get a chance too?

What Samuel L. Jackson Taught Me About Roller Derby

For a college drop out, I can be very studious. I like to read. I love to learn.

Just not in a classroom! 

So as soon as I realized founding this league actually meant running a business, I started studying successful people. 

Not my favorite business by any means, but...

Because if you're gonna pour your heart into something, it might as well be successful. And if there are successful people telling their stories, then there's probably a lot to be learned from them.

 

And when I found myself in the role of... sports coach... I soothed the panic in my soul by devouring anything I could get my hands on about coaching. 

Books, movies, videos, you name it.

I think it was Matt who told me about this one:

So I checked it out and was like.... Damn, Sam Jackson... you have taught me things!

In the movie, Coach Carter takes a losing team and turns them into winners by encouraging them to be better people. 

To speak to each other with the highest respect, and to have an ethic that carries them, in and out of the game. This way they would elevate each other to their highest potential as a team. 

And as people who can make things happen in society.

I had never thought about things this way before....

But I was thinking about it now! You'll have to see this movie to get what it's about.

Netflix has it here.

I really took it to heart and tried to bring this back to my league; encouraging skaters to refer to each other as "women" instead of "girls."

You could call that being picky with semantics (which I admit, I happen to be.) Or you could think of it as elevating your fellow skaters to their highest potential.

That's one thing I took from it, anyways. Also, this quote from the movie really helped fashion my work ethic at practice:

"When we step on the floor every second that clock is ticking..." — Coach Ken Carter⁸

There are so many more professional athlete and coach biographies that I've read, documentaries watched, and websites referenced that have had profound effects on me as coach....

But this Hollywood movie was the first. And it was about a sport I've never played.

Go figure!

Have a super-awesomely-elevated-to-it's-highest-potential rad day today!!!

My parting gifts:

Conan The Barbarian!

Somewhat addicted to Robert E. Howard books before my teens - especially Conan and King Kull. There were vast numbers in each series, especially as L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter carried on where Howard had left off. Thus the first dog that was all my own was named after Conan the Barbarian, long before Mr Schwarzenegger assumed the role

I shall give you a great dog of Ireland...

Here he is when we were first settling into the new house, with 40 tons of topsoil needed to turn what was a London Clay field into a garden. That's all turf.

And the new pond that needed the yellow irises

That's me in the car dealer's anorak

And in the same series of faded photographs, I found out where...

...an American cartoon artist got the inspiration for Chuckie (from Rugrats).

Brother #3 with Mum, smoking.

My Book Blog

This is the first draft of my manuscript.

Dear all,

I started a new site; http://annkitsuetchin.blogspot.com/.
Here I figure my book. If you like to read, do pay it a visit and comment.

Diary of a Bereaved Mother
From the conception of my first blog http://annkschin.blogspot.com/ I had shared with you about my late son Andrew.

In October 2010, fellow blogger Ginny inspired me to write my book about having Andrew. Since then, I had shared with Betsy and George. They have been pivotal in encouraging me.

The book is almost done, my editor suggested that I post some parts of it and I welcome your comments.


This book is not just a soppy and maudlin story of my tragic life. This is non fiction, and the genre is: Self Help/ death and dying/child’s death/survival


The book is my journey of having a baby who died in Auckland National Womens' Hospital and suggestions to help bereaved parents, their care givers and doctors.

It has been edited: It is a wonderful account, written from the heart.

Comment:I know that no words can adequately express sympathy for this tragedy. You must be a very brave woman to come through this ordeal and write about it.

My pastors wrote this introduction in my Forward: Ann’s account of losing her infant son Andrew will resonate with anyone who has had the misfortune to give birth to a child who has struggled to live. As pastors at Ann’s church and as bereaved parents ourselves we felt for Ann through these recordings of her journal.


The first post is my synopsis.

Ruby Red Tuesday/Rednesday: The Red Connection

http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com

http://www.suelovescherries.blogspot.com/

The Mt Albert Baptist Church has a vision for the community. Under the new intern, Albert Ng, a final student from Baptist College, supported by a group of interested church members, we are planning for an Asian Outreach.

Our first function kicks off with a Movie and Dinner Night on Good Friday evening. We are screening this, made in Singapore movie, "The Red Connection" which features TV artistes like Zhu How Ren and Lina Ng. It is a touching movie which depicts the sacrificial love of a brother for the other. It screens Malaysia and Singapore in the 60s, and the Chinese there.

Albert grew up in Cambodia, lived in Hong Kong, and studied his first degree in the University of Manhattan, in Canada. He has 3 beautiful daughters, and his wife comes from Taiwan. Indeed, he is an International person.

This invite leaflet was designed by Albert's daughter Rebecca. Ka Pai and Paki Paki Rebecca.

Coltsfoot in bloom

Between a rock and a hard place

Finding nourishment while being rooted in rocks,

yearning for the sun;

Determination is its key to survival

Found yesterday in Quispamsis these Coltsfooot are my first photos of wildflowers in 2011. My daughter had found them while out for a walk. I had suggested that she look in places that attracted a srong stream of sunlight and she found these in a rocky bed of rocks alongside a roadside. Last year I had found this wildflower blooming in my garden on April 12th. , 2011. Maybe this year? I don't think so although I have already looked and have found no sign of their growth. Today I will search for their blossoms in an old favourite spot of mine for finding them along a railroad track which is another harsh environment that they seem to thrive in.

Sunday Scans

http://sundayscans.blogspot.com/

Al http://alsphotographyblog.blogspot.com/.

is thinking about putting together a new meme, Sunday Scans, just for scanned photos, I wonder if there would be any interest if I did it.

I have many scanned photos, so Al, I am interested.

I bought this ball for my son to play with it without realising that it was a gym ball for proper exercise.

Beautiful Black Ducks for Blue Monday

This is the time of year when my photographic focus turns to open areas of water, ponds, rivers or lawn ponds created by melting snow or overflowing river areas etc. My hopes are often diminished though when seeing a group of ducks from a distant only to discover they"are only Black Ducks." My camera enjoys the more beautiful and exotic appearing ducks such as Hooded Mergansers, Goldeneye, etc. However my evaluation of the Black Duck images capturedby my camera this week have developed into more positive phrasescausing me to utter expressions such as; "How beautiful!", Wow!"

Blue has long been my favourite colour and this week on a couple of occassions I have been lucky enough to have taken pictures of Black Ducks showing their beautiful blue speculum on their wings in flight. This blue patch is very striking and makes a beautiful sighting when you are lucky enough to view it. And even though I am still anticipating sightings of green winged Teal, Ring-Necked Ducks, Pintails, Northern Shovelor, etc in the near future, I will value more opportunies to photograph, the beautiful blue speculum of a Black Duck' on the wing'

Blue Monday is a meme that hosts photos which highlights the colour of blue. Please click on the bluejay badge in the right sidebar to learn more of this interesting meme found at : http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/

Poetry Bus: The Poem

I Shall Give You

The great dog was a good gift for twelve years life
Though he did not arrive the actual day
But somewhat premature, and precarious
On beanpole limbs, but his plate paws
Reassured that he was, indeed, the good seed
Of great dogs who had hunted alongside kings
In bog lands where brave men bested fell giants.
This was after I had broken my first leg,
The nine months standing on the train I endured,
And it was after I had kissed my first boy
On the holiday I had broken my first leg.
At last I had before me, touching distance,
My great dog, though he wobbled and vomited
On our drive after the long drive across the water
After being terrorised by the black dog
That was my father’s dog, whose rightful place
He had usurped in the back of the strawed cattle truck.
I thought he was broken, or the runt
And toyed rejection, but because he was mine
For the first time and I had wanted him for so long,
I had wanted him to just this conformation,
I took him, fed him minced meat, one egg a day
And milk. I did not overwalk him
As he grew, as he grew, as he grew.
I came to love him for he was more mine
Than anyone’s and ran to my pursed lips alone.
At a year he could take down a horse
Should we choose, though we did not,
And we had no fear of any living thing
Even after dark. The big house had not long been built
And my mother, who did not want common things
Desired irises to put in the water
Of the pool beyond the kitchen’s bullseyed window,
But not blue ones, for blue ones were common things.
I had seen yellow irises from the woods
The great dog and I ranged and hunted within,
The woods where the wild creatures hid
Stock still at our imagined stealth, yet the dog
Though a sighthound, could still smell and I could flush.
We found that most creatures do scream
When they are dying. The yellow irises
Were far beyond the untended trespassed woods,
Beyond the straggler trees, beyond the iron gates
Where the formal garden of the rich woman
Was laid out to lawn splendour, interrupted
Only by specimens and a formal lake.
She was rich because her grandfather made his fortune
In cheap groceries, and she had never married,
Though she was old now, preferring, they said, to retain
The name that was still lettered above the shops.
We were grave thieves and her wealth no match for us.
The dog would kill on command, I bad him stay
At the point where coarse seedheaded grass
Became short and smooth and grass greener.
I walked slowly, for I had no fear
In plain sight to the edge of her lake
Then walked straight in, and the bottom was yielding
To my hard feet and the world was very bright
Under a high sun. The irises were stretched upwards
Taller than I had thought. I reached, held and pulled
Three stems, my eyes on the half-timbered manor
Where a rich woman was watching my brazenness.
It was a wrench but the root fractured
With a rifle crack and I felt the dog rise
At the single sound on the still long day
And looked to him, and he obeyed me.
I left the garden more slowly than I had entered
Waving three great yellow flags on stalks as tall
As I, with a brown root anchor dry, gashed white
At the place I had torn it from the original.
I carried the good gift home that hot day, through deep woods
And desert fields, while the great dog showed teeth and tongue
And thought of water in his panting.
We gave the yellow irises to my mother,
Planted them in a silver metal basket
In the shallows of the pool beyond the bullseyed window.
They flourished year on year and they flower yet.
My father told tales of our daring
To the men at market that year and the one after.

Poetry Bus: Muse Swings The Right Way! But Its All Gone Wrong!

Yes, Muse Swings is driving and whilst I have every intention of writing about the Theda Bara lookalike at some point this week, by utter chance I was writing a poem tonight and have noticed that whilst it is about a specific dog, at no point does it mention the dog's breed. Which I reckon just about makes it into the prompt 2 category:

Write a descriptive poem about an object/person/animal. Do not use the name of the object/person/animal in the title of the poem or in the poem. Let us guess based on your masterful visual description.

Extra points for the said dog's actual name.

Every other rider can be found here: http://muse-swings.blogspot.com/2011/03/monday-poetry-bus-ride-is-on-muse.html

Given up. Every time I try to post the poem it loses the line breaks. I've got that prose-y thing that has happened to others.

Scenic Sunday: Western Springs

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2XkufkdHGp017N2tHQsdsx5mM29Q7jud5MJ6GdYVDN6F_hyphenhyphenufOXR2rQQuf_EJLGb0KPFAxNtGXT3yUFKNZN3wACEqpeaBdOEh-jU07whL3KtTyRRyKxg3YVaTQEyffYWe8ojoqFB9PpL/s1600-h/scenic+sunday.jpg">

http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/

This is my favourite place in Auckland.

Kia ora, talofa lava, malo e lelei, ni sa bula vinaka, kia orana, fakaalofa lahi atu, kam na mauri, taloha ni, greetings.

On Sat 12 March, we celebrated Pasifika festival.

Pasifika Festival day is the finale of the new expanded programme, ending a week of concerts, debates, exhibitions and workshops with a unique international celebration of the Pacific Island communities in New Zealand.

The 19th Pasifika Festival features traditional and contemporary entertainment, festive flavours, a huge variety of stalls and more!

Pasifika is the most significant cultural festival in the South Pacific, and the world’s largest Pacific festival of its kind.

River Ice for Scenic Sunday

Scenic Sunday:a meme of beautiful scenery. To learn more about scenic Sunday please go to:http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/ or to post your own contribution, please click on the link within this post

Sunday bridge: Mangere

http://bayphoto.blogspot.com/

The bank is quite steep, and children swim in this river. I guess the steps are for them to get into the water.

By Their Fruits...

...ye shall know them.

T2 came home with the above this afternoon, then uttered the immortal line,

'I am so going to have to get copyright.'

Meanwhile, apologies for the prolonged absences of late. Unfeasibly busy, and I've got to work Saturday too.

Goldeneye head throwing

The above photo shows 'head throwing', a mating ritual of Golden eye Ducks. We saw many Goldeneye ducks yesterday in the Saint John river while travelling alongside it when driving on highway#105 at Maugerville and Sheffield.

macro flower saturday: pink flowers

Macro Flower Saturday
http://blueberrycraftandhobbytime.blogspot.com/p/join-my-photo-challenge-flowers-on.html


Grown in a bush outside the winter gardens of Auckland Domain. Sorry I don't know the name. Do you know?
I found out:

Cistus purpureus description: This semi-hardy low growing shrub is suited to sunny dry borders. Deep purple blossoms are borne through out the summer, complimenting attractive dark green foliage and spreading habit. 1.m wide x 80cm.

Watery Wednesday: Pier

http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

Can you see the pier in the distance? I was up in the Waitakari ranges when I looked out to see and spotted the pier.

An American Robin for Ruby Tuesday

What a joyous sight this has been the past few days
watching red-breasted Robins scurry and forage in dried grass filled fields and meadows. Not so today though as winter has returned and everything out of doors this morning is covered with a blanket of white that has fallen overnight. Maybe a touch of Shelia's brush?
Got photos with red want to share them?To check out other postings on Ruby Tuesday just click on the Ruby logo on the side bar or here:http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/. My appreciative thanks to Mary/the teach for hosting this meme

a