SWYC PIeces

Vogue (Gail)
Lovely (Jade/Cat)
So apparently it’s the end of the world (Cindy)
Scars (Ben)
Cool Tombs (Carl Sandburg)
Night (Peter)
I Kissed a Girl (Katy Perry, Dr Luke, Max Martin, Cathy Dennis)
Gentle is the air (?)
Outside my window I see (Wordsworth 2009)
my sweet old etcetera (e.e. cummings)
There was an old woman (?)
Festi, from Twelfth Night (William Shakespeare)
i am singing a song/i want to let you hear (Kati?/Peter)
Click (Erica)
Hope is (2008 Wordsworth)
Today (What hands are here?) (Gail)
Ode to Alana (Gail)
Marcel (Gail)
Body out of whack (Gail)
Under the fashion doll’s spell (Gail)
A Little Medi Cocktail Rap (Gail)
Brava (Gail)
Corpse (Gail)
Vogue (Gail)
Before, distressed, shifty, enclosed (?)
My personal pet peeve (YW 2007)
I was most courageous (YW 2007)
Wish for the world (YW 2007)

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

Outside my window I see

snowy swept scapes
winter wonders
wind in the waking wood

branches of trees in silhouette
dusky winter morning
landscape aglow
sky alight with fire

snow untouched by human footprints

the world I’ve been ignoring
children, broken, still smiling
smiles that carry more than one meaning

my future my tomorrow
turmoil of the present
blank canvas of a world waiting to be
hope that cannot be contained indoors

birds flying over the mountains of my triumphs
sunlight tickling the tops
open spaces and audacity

torsos of trees
beauty and possibility
a sun that shines upon the entire world
jubilant victorious dawn

the jigsaw puzzle of the world
where I might actually have a place
I might actually call home


Group poem by the WordsWorthians 2009

----------
I Kissed a Girl
Katy Perry, Dr Luke, Max Martin and Cathy Dennis

This was never the way I planned
Not my intention
I got so brave, drink in hand
Lost my discretion
It's not what, I'm used to
Just wanna try you on
I'm curious for you
Caught my attention

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

No, I don't even know your name
It doesn't matter,
You're my experimental game
Just human nature,
It's not what,
Good girls do
Not how they should behave
My head gets so confused
Hard to obey

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chap stick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it
----------
I have seen the lake
Underground
The reflection of our souls
We have all seen it once, at birth,
Tucked behind our eyes
Our own
Til the light comes –
And it is gone
Evaporated out of memory
Out of knowledge

Gentle is the air
Peaceful is the song
Skipping rocks
Feet walk among rocks
Sharp edges
Paths unknown
Woven words
Sounds of water
Waves of time
I see pink skies with sailor’s eyes

Before, distressed, shifty, enclosed.
I was trapped. I was broken.
Hurt and missing.
In this room, no longer trapped.
We are all alive.
Singing out, sweating out
The air is full and fast
We’ll make music together
Find peace
Trust
Beauty
Union
We’ll find power
Today, we are power

There was an old woman
Who lived in a shoe
She was the grandmother of twenty and two
Her children are gone
To the ravage of AIDS
And she’s all that’s left to care for the babes
She gives them some broth
She can’t afford bread
And after they sleep
She cries in her bed

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe
Had not much to live on and less to eat
Her husband had left her for some other maid
Her shoes were so ripped barely stayed on her feet

She was spread so thin every penny was spent
No food and no hope and no money for rent

There was a little crooked girl
She had a crooked smile
Watched crooked politicians
Take their crooked little while

Crooked borders of Africa
Are good for crooked deals
Never mind the crooked girl
And how or what she feels



Reena Virk

Ring around the rosie
A pocket full of posie
Husha husha
We all fall down

on the playground
they seem harmless
play at hopscotch
ring around the rosie

there’s the new girl
she’s got dark skin
she’s got weird clothes
a pocket full of posie

push her sideways
throw her books down
here comes teacher
husha husha

after school then
meet you later
underneath the bridge where
we all fall down


My personal pet peeve
when people talk when I’m talking
or when I’m interrupted
before I have the chance to say anything

My personal pet peeve
people
who are prejudiced
unreasonable
illogical
who don’t respect others

My personal pet peeve
arrogance
gossip
conceit
backstabbing
being ignored
overlooked
being the butt of insulting jokes – racist, homophobic, sexist, ageist
feeling powerless to change

My pet peeve
when people make annoying, disturbing noises
people who whine and complain about the government
make no effort to improve it
sad or angry people who make everybody else around them
sad or angry
people who adopt views they don’t understand
just to fit in
people who pout about petty problems
those who are self-absorbed
those who will not accept something new or unusual
who make fun of it because they are afraid

My personal pet peeve is regret
it annoys me to no end
but when I regret something
I feel awful –
and then I realize
how silly regret is in the first place

My personal pet peeve is on a crowded subway
those people who stand in the way
with large backpacks on
and headphones playing around their neck
instead of quietly in their ears
Makes me want to shove past them
into the aisle
while stealing something
from their packs
and cutting the headphone wire
And maybe step on their toes
or elbow them while I’m at it.
Instead I just complain loudly to friends
about people who do such things.
Or I write about them.

My personal pet peeve
people
who shop while on cell phones
who drop their cigarette butts wherever they please
even if those butts are still smoking
who try to push their religion on you
who chew with their mouths open

My pet peeve
people who misspell the names of
their so-called favourite bands
when it’s quiet in a classroom and someone sniffs

My personal pet peeve is toast crumbs in the butter
SERIOUSLY!






I was most courageous
when I joined a group and I didn’t know anyone

Courage is
walking for an hour with a kneecap
that had split in half
not that I had much choice
going to your uncle’s wedding
when you know he is dying of cancer

I was most courageous
when I took the risk
to read my writing out loud
without stuttering
when I sang for someone
other than my bedroom walls

My most courageous moment
was when I led the group
to search for our adversary
at first step
I instantly became a proud warrior
in his fierce will to live
I found the reserve to go on

I was most courageous
when I came out to my parents
when I finally disclosed my experiences
about sexual abuse
when I allowed myself to smile again

My act of bravery
when I was there to hold her hand
learning not to judge others
sending a difficult letter
opening up to people
telling a boy/ a girl I like him/her

I was courageous
when I truly discovered
how ill my mother is
she sent me to bring her medication from the dresser
I was still able to breathe
even after I counted the bottles
and when I watched her die…



My wish for the world
that we learn to live in peace
harmony
so that we finally get along
with each other
with the natural environment

that we set aside our avarice and petty arguments
so that tolerance is the norm
not the exception

that actions be motivated by morality
not personal greed

My wish for the world
Peace
Love
Art

I wish that there will be no more rude comments
snide remarks
that good will be extended to the world

I wish that third world countries would not be
Exploited
Plundered
Raped

I wish to be happy

I wish for unity

I hope that computers will not replace people

I hope the future
has more imagination
free will
spontaneous people

My wish?

That there could be just one moment when everybody
everybody
smiles


---------
Lovely


Do you remember when everything
was so lovely?
When we spent each day together,
lying inside of sunshine shells,
and everything was perfect
-------------





A man on a sail boat
Against the sky
A man with the wind in his hair
A man with a gaze
A gaze at the moon

A man with the breeze in his hair
Watches and waits for what’s never there
Wishes and dreams for the mermaids
Hopes and prays for the gods of his days

A man with a dream
A dream of the moon
A man with a wise kind of wink in his eye
As the waves go by
As the waves go by



So apparently, it’s the end of the world. How do I know? Man, just look out the window. Check out the chaos. That’s quality Armageddon shit right there. Really, who even said that the End was gonna be like math class?

1 screw-balled military missile launching experiment

minus

1 forgotten piece of important data

plus

1 national statement of oops

equals

Kaboom


Scars
-------------------

Purge the expendables-endables-endab
les-endables
Gas the undesirables

They are the ones we'll blame
Crush their shoulders with our shame

Pick a plough
from Mao
damn the dao
Disallow
Disavow
Listen now

Let them burn
just like the stars
Bathe in ashes
to heal your scars

It's just a bit of pesticide



Night.
A taxi, idle.
From a furtive
radio, trickles
static and conversation.

Ferry the uninitiated
through arches of
cobblestone fire
and glide

Inhale the pastels
roses and scarlets
of the dawn
and heed

until night ebbs behind
and the taxi is run
aground in its shadows.




i am singing a song
and you are listening
to the dulcet stammering of my voice
i can sing high as a soprano
low as a bass
loud as thunder
soft as whisper

i am weaving magic
with a flick of my hand
undecipherable, non-sensical symbols
strange sounds, throaty emissions
my spells
a sorceress, I


i want to
let you hear
the kinds of
words

you make
me think in

short staccato sounds
screaming soaring simultaneous
between horizontal rests in silence
anticipating with stilted breath my cue

i want to
let you hear
the music when
words

are played
but you’re tone deaf
to the tintinnabulation
of the thousand subtle rhythms
that toll for thee




Ode to Alana

O, creature vexing awesome
I envy thee thy tresses golden
Legs limber lithesome long
Breasts gargantuan yet falsely, too
Thy skin fair, orbs bluely luminescent
Thy breathing sweetly shallow
And mind at a loss for words intelligible
And yet the sweet shepherd harkens
To your siren call
Alas, the poor shepherd, dupe and clown
In her poison’d embrace all fools must drown


Click

Camera ready:
blank film
24 empty frames
unexposed

Click

That girl her Louis Vuitton bag
Prada shoes

Click

Light glancing from a glossy cover
blonde hair
blue eyes

Click
Ads shouting
Buy me! Buy me! Buy me!
Be me

Click

Television images rushing

Click Click Click

Click

Not so many
empty frames
left

Click
Click
Whirrrrr
Film winds back

Pass it over the photo counter
surrender the
unexposed images

Expose them

Click


Reena Virk

Ring around the rosie
A pocket full of posie
Husha husha
We all fall down

On the playground
They seem harmless
Play at hopscotch
Ring around the rosie

There’s the new girl
She’s got dark skin
She’s got weird clothes
A pocket full of posie

Push her sideways
Throw her books down
Here comes teacher
Husha husha

After school then
Meet you later
Underneath the bridge where
We all fall down

There was an old woman
Who lived in a shoe
She was the grandmother
Of twenty and two

Her children are gone
From the ravage of AIDS
And only she’s left
To care for the babes

She gives them some broth
She can’t afford bread
And after they sleep
She cries in her bed

There was an old woman
Who lived in a shoe
Had not much to live on
And less to eat

Her husband had left her
For some other maid
Shoes so ripped
Barely stayed on her feet

Spread so thin
Every penny was spent
No food no hope
No money for rent

There was an old woman
Who lived in a shoe
She riots for rice
She’s nothin’ to you

The U.N. is crying
And babies keep dying
While leaders are lying
With NGOs trying

A three-car garage
Closes out the barrage
Right-wingers forswear it
But the shoe fits, you wear it
Hope is


Hope is
a word
a good word

Hope is
the piece of my soul I’m afraid to let anyone see
lest it be crushed
that spark that makes you realize
you’re human

Hope is
looking for something
knowing that somehow it’s out there
that in someway the world will bring it to you

Hope is
knowing that one day
there will be a cure for my disease

Hope is
finding beauty in the oddest things
a sunbeam in winter
sunlight melting the frost
a chickadee’s song in the chill air

Hope is
making chicken cordon bleu
without the recipe

Hope is
unconditional love
a simple hug
or simply saying
“I will never stop”

Hope is
the thing that keeps us going
faith that there is still love in the world
belief that people will be there
when you need them most

Hope is
seeing yourself in the mirror
and not shuddering

Hope is
staring at the stars for answers

Hope is
sleeping on the breeze
it’s up to us to wake it

Hope is
understanding that change is possible
from global problems to your life to yourself

Hope is
staying forever young
while evil, hate, sorrow
grow old

Hope is
that little thread
you get to hang on to
when the floor disappears

Hope is
holding on when things look bleak
faith in what you cannot see
refusing to acknowledge the impossible

Hope is
doing what you can
believing it’s worth the effort

Hope is
learning how to save the world
with little more
than pens and graphite

Hope is
the lights in the distance
that keep me walking on an unknown path

SWYC Performances

Performances


• Spring Me Art! SWYC Fundraiser
March 2010 KIVA Room
o Cool Tombs (Carl Sandburg)
o Night
o Festi (from Twelfth Night)

• Winter Wordsworth
February 2010 Bennett Centre
o Festi

• Wordsworth
July 2009 Kamp Kiwanis
o Lovely


• What it’s like to be a victim: Youth Multimedia Art Exhibit
National Victims of Crime Awareness Week
April 30, 2009 Kid’s in the Hall Bistro City Hall
o Reena Virk
o Wish for the world

• Edmonton Poetry Festival 2009
April 24, 2009 Audrey’s Books
o Vogue
o Lovely
o So apparently it’s the end of the world
o Scars
o Cool Tombs
o Night
o I Kissed a Girl
o Gentle is the air
o Outside my window I see
o my sweet old etcetera
o There was an old woman
o Festi, from Twelfth Night

• Wordsworth 2009
February _, 2009 Strathcona Wilderness Centre

• Wordsworth 2008
February _, 2008 Bennet Centre

• Canadian Author’s Association National Conference
July 3, 2008 Timm’s Centre for the Arts

• Gravity Journal Book Launch
The Artery
o Today (What hands are here?)
o Ode to Alana
o Marcel
o Body out of whack
o Under the fashion doll’s spell
o A Little Medi Cocktail Rap
o Brava
o Corpse
o Vogue

• Word! Symposium: talk, performance and poetry: Edmonton Poetry Festival 2007
September 22, 2007 MacEwan, Alberta College
o Gentle is the air
o Before, distressed, shifty, enclosed
o There was an old woman
o Reena Virk
o My personal pet peeve (YW 2007)
o I was most courageous (YW 2007)
o Wish for the world (YW 2007)


• The Roar Spoken Word Festival 2007
September 21, 2007 Axis Café
o Gentle is the air
o Before, distressed, shifty, enclosed
o There was an old woman
o Reena Virk
o My personal pet peeve (YW 2007)
o I was most courageous (YW 2007)
o Wish for the world (YW 2007)