my eyes
held this little cloud
on the line
between darkness and light
until it rose
and became both
and neither
*
this is a day when so many of my children are immersed in their experiencing of the manner in which their ancestors are honoured and thanked. today my class will gather for the first time in my career at the cenotaph alongside several soldiers and honour in a very direct way the sacrifices made by so many on both sides.
it is hard for young children to connect directly to something so vast and old and so my work this year is to bring them as closely as possible to a nexus point of remembrance from which our questions, our empathy, our sympathy, our puzzlement, can be centred and then cast into the great gathering of energy around the world that finds its focus in the hope that war can one day come to an end.
6 comments:
Ironic that before I read your words, I looked at that little cloud and thought, "March onward, little cloud."
That you are taking your students to such a place will make them remember a lot about life. You're a good teacher..and a good man.
hope - when i saw that little cloud i was trying to photograph it because it seemed to hold so many words and ideas and possibilities inside itself. i was allowed one image and when i went back home the words wrote themselves in my head as i walked. thanks for your kind comment hope. steven
I went to the service at our war memorial this morning Steven. The death of soldiers is very real to us here because we are so close to a very big army garrison. There was a class of school children at the service - they behaved impeccably and were visibly moved.
weaver i stood in front of a small group of vets whose wavering voices sang the hymns i remember from when i was a boy. just that alone was very moving for me. the most moving moment though was when one of my boys found his great-grandfather's name on the memorial and i was able to get a photograph of him. steven
Quite something...
valerianna - a very little something. the little pieces seem to have the biggest hands and eyes!! steven
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