Poem: In The Midst Of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin

In the Midst of Hardship by Latiff Mohidin

At dawn they returned home

their soaky clothes torn

and approached the stove

their limbs marked by scratches

their legs full of wounds

but on their brows

there was not a sign of despair

The whole day and night just passed

they had to brave the horrendous flood

in the water all the time

between bloated carcasses

and tiny chips of tree barks

desperately looking for their son’s

albino buffalo that was never found

They were born amidst hardship

and grew up without a sigh or a complaint

now they are in the kitchen, making

jokes while rolling their ciggarete leaves

SYNOPSIS (OVERALL)

In this poem, the poet tells of the situation of a farmer and his family. They come back at dawn after being out in the floodwater for a day and night. They are looking for their albino buffalo. They come back wet and hurt but they do not show any despair. They have been born into a life of hardship and have never complained. Now, they are in the kitchen and they joke and talk while preparing to relax with a smoke.

SYNOPSIS (ACCORDING TO STANZA)

STANZA 1

They returned home at dawn and headed for the stove. Their clothes were soaking wet and tattered. Their bodies were covered with scratches and wounds. Yet, they did not display any signs of being worried.

STANZA 2

They were out in the flood the whole day and night. They were surrounded by dead animals and parts of trees that had been destroyed by the flood. They searched desperately for their son’s albino buffalo but were unable to find it.

STANZA 3

They were born into poverty and difficulty, but they do not complain about their suffer. Instead, they sit in the kitchen, cracking jokes while smoking cigarettes.

SETTING

The setting of the poem is in the house.

THEMES

• Stoicism in life
• Family love
• Acceptance of way of life

MORAL VALUES

1. We should learn to accept problems in life with a positive outlook.
2. We must attempt to face and solve problems.
3. Failure is part of growing up.
4. Do not despair in the face of failure.

TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

• Understanding and sympathetic
• Dismal
• Acceptance of situation

POINT OF VIEW

• Third person point of view.

LANGUAGE & STYLE

• Language is simple and easy to understand.
• The style is simple with no rhyming scheme.

POETIC DEVICES

• Imagery – Gives picture of poet’s thoughts e.g ‘soaky clothes torn’ and ‘legs full of wounds’
• Alliteration – e.g. ‘but on their brows’
• Symbols – e.g. ‘horrendous flood’ and ‘bloating carcasses’
• Diction – e.g. ‘stove’ and ‘brows‘

Poem: Are You Still Playing Your Flute? by Zurinah Hassan

Are You Still Playing Your Flute? by Zurinah Hassan

Are you still playing your flute?

When there is hardly time for our love

I am feeling guilty

To be longing for your song

The melody concealed in the slim hollow of the bamboo

Uncovered by the breath of an artist

Composed by his fingers

Blown by the wind

To the depth of my heart.

Are you still playing your flute?

In the village so quiet and deserted

Amidst the sick rice fields

While here it has become a luxury

To spend time watching the rain

Gazing at the evening rays

Collecting dew drops

Or enjoying the fragrance of flowers.

Are you still playing your flute?

The more it disturbs my conscience

to be thinking of you

in the hazard of you

my younger brothers unemployed and desperate

my people disunited by politics

my friend slaughtered mercilessly

this world is too old and bleeding.

THEMES

• Family commitments
• Priorities in life
• Neglect of one’s duties

MORAL VALUES

• We should be aware of our family commitments and carry them out properly.
• Everyone has priorities in, life and we should know what is important and what is not.
• Following a hobby is good but there is a time for work and a time for play.

POINT OF VIEW

• The poem is the first point of view.
• The person is addressing another person and describing a situation to him.

LANGUAGE AND STLYE

• Rhetorical question
• Descriptive and questioning
• Simple style and no rhyme

TONE, MOOD AND ATMOSPHERE

• Sombre and regretful
• Serious atmosphere

POETIC DEVICES

• Imagery – e.g. ‘blown by the wind’, ‘depth of my heart’
• Alliteration – e.g. ‘fragrance of flowers’
• Symbol – e.g. ‘flute’, ‘song’
• Repetition – e.g. ‘Are you still playing your flute?’
• Figurative Language – Metaphor e.g. ‘The melody concealed in the slime hollow of bamboo – Personification e.g. ‘sick rice field’

Poem: He Had Such Quiet Eyes by Bibsy Soenharjo

He Had Such Quiet Eyes by Bibsy Soenharjo

He had such quiet eyes

She did not realise

They were two pools of lies

Layered with thinnest ice

To her, those wuiet eyes

Were breathing desolate sighs

Imploring her to be nice

And to render him paradise

If only she’d been wise

And had listened to the advice

Never to compromise

With pleasure-seeking guys

She’d be free from ‘the hows and whys’

Now here’s a bit of advice

Be sure that nice really nice

Then you’ll never be losing at dice

Though you lose your heart once or twice

THEME

• Betrayal of love
• Personal experiences
• Relationships that are meaningful

MORAL VALUES

• Don’t be naive and believe everything we are told especially in matters of the heart.
• We must be careful when choosing friends.
• Falling in love is normal but one should be careful.
• We must learn from the experience of other people.

TONE, MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

• Refelective
• Sad and happy
• Sympathetic

POINT OF VIEW

• Second and third person points of view

LANGUAGE & STYLE

• Simple and easy to understand
• Simple style with rhyming scheme

POETIC DEVICES

• Imagery – e.g. ‘pools of lies’, ‘layered in thinnest ice’
• Symbol – e.g ‘quiet eyes’, ‘dice’
• Alliteration – e.g ‘lies layered’
• Personafication – e.g The eyes were ‘breathing the desolate sighs’ as though he was talking charmingly to her.

Poem: Nature by H.D.Carberry

Nature by H.D Carberry

Nature by H.D. Carberry

We have neither Summer nor Winter

Neither Autumn nor Spring.

We have instead the days

When the gold sun shines on the lush green canefields-

Magnificently.

The days when the rain beats like bullet on the roofs

And there is no sound but thee swish of water in the gullies

And trees struggling in the high Jamaica winds.

Also there are the days when leaves fade from off guango trees’

And the reaped canefields lie bare and fallow to the sun.

But best of all there are the days when the mango and the logwood blossom

When bushes are full of the sound of bees and the scent of honey,

When the tall grass sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air,

When the buttercups have paved the earth with yellow stars

And beauty comes suddenly and the rains have gone.

SYNOPSIS

The poem tells of the weather conditions in Jamaica although it does not have the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. The weather conditions of golden sunny days and wet rainy days are just as good and are almost equivalent to the four seasons.

UNDERSTANDING THE POEM

Lines 1 to 10

The poet tells about his homeland , Jamaica and rejoices the beauty of this island. Jamaica has no seasonal changes. It has a tropical climate which is hot and wet throughout the year. The days of golden sunshine are glorious and magnificent. The are many canefields in Jamaica as sugar is one of the main exports in this country.

Lines 11 to 15

In the ending of the poem, the poet tells us his favourite time – days when the flowers of mango trees and logwood blossom. He uses imagery of sound and smell to illustrate abundant life and activity in the bushes when the ‘sound of bees and the scent of honey’ add to the charm and beauty if Jamaica. He describes the fields filled with lovely yellow buttercups. All this happens when the rains have stopped and the beauty if nature emerges once again.

THEMES

• Beauty of nature
• Appreciation of one own’s country
• Differences in appearances but similar in effects

MORAL VALUES

• We should appreciate what we have in our own country
• We should not long for what we do not have.
• We should appreciate our homeland.
• We should appreciate the beauty of nature.

TONE,MOOD, ATMOSPHERE

• Appreciative and happy
• Carefree and light-hearted
• Sense of beauty

POINT OF VIEW

• Third person point of view

LANGUAGE AND STYLE

• Simple and easy to understand the language
• Clear and descriptive
• Simple style with no rhyming scheme

POETIC DEVICES

• Imagery – e.g. ‘gold sun’, ‘lush green fields’, ‘trees struggling’
• Alliteration – e.g. ‘sways and shivers to the slightest breath of air’
• Symbols – e.g. ‘gold sun’ – symbol of summer, ‘rains’ – symbol of winter
• Contrast – e.g. ‘beauty’ or summer is compared with ‘rains’ or winter
• Figurative Language  – Simile – ‘rain beats like bullets’
• Metaphor – e.g. ‘the buttercups paved the earth with yellow stars’
• Personafication – ‘buttercups have paved the earth’ …  buttercups have been personified as having laid tiles

Learn English Through Choral Speaking

ONE of the keys to a child’s education lies in language proficiency.

In line with this, the Hakuho Foundation of Japan, with the approval of the Japanese Ministry of Education, supports children’s education particularly in the areas of language and culture. The foundation, established in 1970 by leading global advertising agency Hakuhodo, which has a 115-year history, provides opportunities for Japanese children to become more well-rounded international individuals with strong understanding of the language and culture of their own country through the Hakuho Scheme for a Global Children’s Japanese Language Network.

The foundation also sponsors the Overseas Experience Programme for Japanese Children, one of four projects under the network, an initiative now in its third year.

Some 12 students from Toko Gakuen and Ojiya Junior High School were in Malaysia for a week-long visit under the programme. The purpose of the trip was to interact with Malaysian students and experience the various communities and their cultures.

During the students’ visit to Malaysia, various activities were organised by the foundation to expose them to ethnic cultures. Malaysian children who are learning the Japanese language, in turn, had a peek at Japanese culture. One of the many activities under the programme was a visit to SMJK Katholik in Petaling Jaya.

The Japanese students were given a chance to interact with, learn from and exchange experiences with the local children.

The visitors were also given a themed discussion to brainstorm. The topic was Tomorrow’s Connections Between Human Beings And Other Living Things. The theme helped students to become aware of the fact that the world has a diversity of animals and plants, as well as issues that will occur in the future. As the students will one day become the main force in society, they will have social influence on and responsibility for such things. The Japanese students also paid a visit to the Education Ministry where they learned more about the education system in Malaysia.

The students’ cultural experience included visits to world heritage sites in Malacca and Kota Kinabalu. — By SHARMILA VELLA

Read more: Taking a peek at Malaysian life http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/TakingapeekatMalaysianlife/Article/#ixzz1HCHeJZoY
Collection of: http://jms-englishonline.blogspot.com/

High-Performance Schools (SBT) 2011

STAR, IPOH

Congratulations to all 23 schools who have fulfilled the criteria to be recognised as High-Performance Schools (SBT). The list was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday.

The list of 23 school categorised under High Performance School (SBT) 2011 is as follows :

1. Sekolah Menengah Imtiaz, Terengganu
2. Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Jalan Empat, Selangor
3. Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Perak
4. Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Gombak, Selangor
5. Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Kubang Pasu, Kedah
6. Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi Pekan, Pahang
7. Sekolah Menengah Sains Alam Shah, Kuala Lumpur
8. Sekolah Menengah Sains Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra, Kelantan
9. Sekolah Menengah Sains Miri, Sarawak
10. Sekolah Menengah Sains Seri Puteri, Kuala Lumpur
11. Sekolah Menengah Sains Selangor, Kuala Lumpur
12. Sekolah Menengah Sains Tengku Abdullah, Pahang
13. Sekolah Menengah Sains Muar, Johor
14. Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Ulu Lubai, Sarawak
15. SK Convent Muar, Johor
16. SK Seri Biram, Pahang
17. SK Sultan Ahmad Tajuddin, Kedah
18. SK Setiawangsa, Kuala Lumpur
19. SK (Perempuan) Methodist Kuantan, Pahang
20. SK Sultan Ismail, Terengganu
21. SK Jalan Tiga, Selangor
22. SJK(C) Perempuan China, Pulau Pinang
23. SJK(C) Lick Hung, Selangor

Last year, 20 schools had been announced as High-Performance Schools. This was under the framework to achieve 100 such schools by the year 2013, said Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister.

Source : Malaysia Education
Collection of: http://jms-englishonline.blogspot.com/

journey - song lyrics - by AKON

JOURNEY.
{Verse 1}
This is the ultimate journey of your life
Where the weak die and the strong survive
Prepare to suffer 40 days and 40 nights
Strap on your boots cause you got a long hike

{Chorus}
Just another journey, another journey into time
C'mon now
Just another journey, who ever thought I'd cross this line
Ohohohohoh
{Verse 2}

Walking through the dirty streets of Jersey (Jersey)
A DOLLAR TO MY NAME searchin for that key
I'm tryin not to reincorinate my past
I'm tired from the game, took another path
Destination 95 Dirty South
Where the devil tried to realter my route
Creator took me by the hand and led the way-ay
to make the story short thats why I'm here today
{Chorus}

What about that day you said I would not ----
And about that day you kicked me out onto the bricks
What about that time you said I wouldnt make a dime
And about that time you said I couldn't make you mine
Destination to the bank overseas
Where Akons treated like royalty
Cause there's so much in this world i have to see-e
The WAGON'S rolling so jump in a follow me-e
{Breakdown}
Born and raised in Africa trying to make a scene
(trying to make a scene)
The best way to get to you is by this music thing
And you might believe

Akon (Akon)
C'mon (c'mon)
( let's take it to the streets ) i traveled thro the ghetto's of America
( let's take it to the streets ) i traveled thro the ghetto's of Africa
( let's take it to the streets ) i traveled thro the ghetto's of Asia
( let's take it to the streets ) i traveled thro the ghetto's all over !!
{ Chorus } 

collection of: http://jms-englishonline.blogspot.com/