Soccer injury, most severe one yet:

Torn ligaments on my ankle...Ouch, ouch. (And no, that's not a haiku!!! haha :-))

Doctor's report: Fractured ankle, torn tendon in the ankle. Ouch! I'll be having the rest of the school term off work to recover. 6 weeks the doctor said it'll take to heal, your prayers for healing are much appreciated! :-)


4-5 days after the injury...                                                      

\

Huh, well in case you were curious as to how it happened, I was running fast dribbling the ball, and ended up tripping over my own ankle, twisted my ankle, and this resulted... not the most manly thing you can say to get brown-y points with the ladies, ha! But a good convo point I guess. My best wishes and prayers go to the players who are playing still, hope the season goes well, and injury-free! Vuong.

Year 4 Grand Avenue SS Haiku (Mrs. Lovett's class)

This class was a delight to teach. Such well-behaved students all-round. Straight on to the haiku-masterpieces without delay.

dry lizards
laid in a burrow
as night comes in

(by Lachlan)

* the word use in this haiku is impeccable, 'dry' lizards, love the use of 'laid' in a burrow, the hero liner of this haiku is the third line, 'as night comes in'. We are seeing something typically Australian here, a hot day, and lizards seeking shade and shelter until 'night comes in'-- a gem of a haiku!

I see the moon
shining
bright on the river

(by Meika)

* you cannot go past the beauty in this haiku. The moon in the river gives the water the illusion of milky-like appearance.

a butterfly
camouflaged on a flower
in midday

(by Meika)

* Bravo Meika, the use of the word 'camouflaged' here is excellent. The image/ haiku works well because first we are seeing the colourful image of a butterfly, because the flowers are also colourful, the butterfly and flowers compliment each other, and to add to the colourful-ness of the image, it's all under a midday sun. A butterfly is being hidden amongst the flowers....and WHAT a surprise it could be when you notice the "flower" start flying!!!

autumn days
leaves fall
on dry ground

(by Samantha)

* autumn days, we are seeing trees upon trees that are browning or reddening, while falling on the ground, works well, nothing to fault really!

clouds
suffocate
the sun

(by Samantha)

* NOW this is an A-H-A!! haiku. Love the use of 'suffocate'. Simple, yet so effective.

sweet taste
of blueberries
is like a fresh spring

(by Sarah)

* This is an amazing haiku, brought a smile to my face. It can be read two ways. First, we are tasting blueberries, and it taste like a fresh spring, as in a fresh water spring on a mountain or wherever. Second way to read into it is that we are tasting the blueberries, but only this time, they taste like 'spring', as in the season of spring! We always associate great natural growth in nature (flowers, trees, fields, mountains, etc) so we are in a sense tasting spring. Love it!

I look
at the stars
they come to me

(by Chau)

* Really, really like the expression 'they come to me', instead of the person seeking out the stars, the stars manage to find a way to the person. Amazing. This also makes us think... how did the stars come to the person? Was the person dreaming? Was the person in a country farm somewhere on the roof staring at the stars?? The good thing about this haiku is that it makes us think about the creative possibilities. Great work Chau.

fish swim
in a clear lake
as water flows

(by Holly)

* Great to see Holly giving it a go, when the rest of the class was quite anxious about sharing. Here we are seeing images that all compliment each other. We are seeing scaly fish swim in a clear lake, with the flow of the water, all of this under a sun, so there is the glint of the scales, the glint of the sun, and the glint of the water.

I feel wind
blowing on my face
water drips on leaves

(by Lynn)

* This haiku makes you think. For me, I saw it as the experience of rain, wind is blowing on the persons face, while the water or rain is dripping off the leaves. Well done Lynn.

slimy snake
slithers next to a tree
at dusk

(by Taylee)

* the technique here is quite exceptional. This could take a while to explain, but here goes. First, "slimy snake/ slithers" works well with the sounds, a snake is typically known for making an "sss" sound, so, slimy, snake, and slithers (as well as dusk) work well with the sound of the haiku. Next thing, it may also be talking about the tree of temptation in Adam and Eve, 'dusk' representing the giving in to the temptation, as a symbolism for letting go of the light. Very impressive. So proud.

when our boats sunk
we enjoyed
the fresh water

(by Michael)

* this is completely unexpected. It is reminiscent of Basho's famous haiku: "my house burnt down/ now I can better see/ the rising moon". Taking a negative situation, turning it into a positive. Great image too, a boat is being capsized, which is of course a horrific ordeal to go through, but the author is saying something like "at least the fresh water is here for us to enjoy or drink" :-)

the waterfall
holds the reflection
of a midday sun

(by Sarah)

* I wondered if Sarah had practiced haiku before, clearly has a talent for writing haiku. In this image there is a scattered amount of water being sprayed down from the waterfall, and from those many, many droplets, we are seeing the midday sun in each of them, so it's kinda like looking at thousands upon thousands of diamonds falling. Keep writing Sarah, you have made me proud.

spider's web
shines so clear
at the sun

(by Sarah)

* A spider's web is designed for catching insects for the spider to eat, but in this case, the spider has caught the sun, and the spider web is glowing. Such a vibrant image.

I see
a dragonfly's wing
under the sun

(by Byron)

* The dragonfly's wing is colourful, and we are all seeing this under a bright sun. The colours of the dragonfly are by themselves very colourful and impressive, but they become amplified under a sun.

summer beach
darkness floods
the ocean

(by Samantha)

* Whoa! Sinister, but brilliant.

when we went home
at night, moon reflects
the horse's eye

(by Michael)

* Again, this is unexpected. The moon (with all of its brightness and curves) work well together with the image of a horse's eye. I just love the feel to this haiku. Really enjoy how you use specific words to create such a dense atmosphere, Michael, your writing shines light into the soul. Great job.

Well, that's it for Grade 4 Grand Avenue State School, and can I just say, I am absolutely blown away at just the quality of haiku that was produced from you all today. Probably the most enriched I've felt after reading a sequence of haiku. Thank you all for the great work and inspiration. My apologies if I have missed any haiku that I said were going up, but aren't up here, I seem to have lost a page or so while leaving class. But a visit in future is no doubt on the priorities list. My best wishes, Mr. Pham.

Year 4A Woodlinks State School Haiku

Hey bloggers, your newest haiku update awaits you. Today brought me to the very obedient and hard-working class of 4A at Woodlinks State School. What I have observed through my day-to-day class hopping is that the quality of haiku/ poetry does not necessarily differ upon the age of the person. What I'm trying to say is, whether the person writing the haiku is in grade 4, or grade 7, or is 25 years of age, age is not necessarily a large factor in determining the quality of the haiku. The point of haiku is quite simply, to capture something in its beauty. The language of haiku is universal, unbound by age range. Some of the haiku generated by my students are just as good, if not, even better than any haiku that you may find in world-class haiku journals that are consisted entirely of adults. One other important point to make is that adults can fall easily into the trap of making a 'complex' or 'mature' type of haiku, but when say, a young student may attempt haiku, it often comes from the purity and essence of haiku, which is, as noted before, the art of capturing something in its beauty or simplicity. On to the outstanding haiku of 4A, and can I just say, well done, keep up the good work, you all are doing a great service for capturing nature in its rawest and most beautiful form. My best wishes, Mr. Pham.

Top 10, Song 1:

I climb
tree to tree
while the sun sets

(by Charlie)

*this was chosen because we get a sense of innocence and joy from the person climbing tree to tree, a sort of halcyon-time. And also, we are all seeing the activity of tree-hopping in all of its joy under a colourful (pink, purple, red, blue, etc) sun set. Lovely image and feel.

wind whistles
as trees shakes
under moonlight

(by Danae)

*you cannot go past the beauty of this piece. We are hearing and seeing the wind, trees rustling, all under the glowing image of the moon.

waves crash
as I stare
at the lonely starfish

(by Sarah)

*this was chosen straight away. We are hearing and seeing waves crash, but the second and third lines are what really packs a 'punch', such longing and loneliness captured whilst the writer is watching wave upon wave of sadness engulfed...But, there's also a sense of hope, through the image of the starfish, it symbolises hope.

trees sway
in the sunset
wind

(by Isaac)

* several ways this could be read. trees sway/ in the sunset wind or trees sway in the sunset/ wind. Very nice, makes us think.

clovers
grow
in the grass

(by Olivia)

*the effectiveness of this haiku is in its simplicity. We are seeing the image of a green clover, and adds more green to the grass. A lot of my students were struggling with the concept of keeping it simple, for example in a haiku, you don't need to say 'blue, wavy, windy ocean' you just need to say 'ocean', because we immediately associate 'blue', 'wavy', and 'windy' with the ocean anyway. This was excellently executed, well done Olivia.

clear waterfall
heavily falls into
a rainbow

(by Mia)

*love the expression 'falls into a rainbow'.

summer clouds
gentle pushes
over the river

(by Aiden)

*this haiku struck me straight away. Two interpretations I could take from this, first we could be seeing the image of summer clouds, and children on the river are pushing each other along gently, both the fragment and the phrase compliment each other well. Second interpretation, could be that we are seeing summer clouds, and they are just gently crossing the river. Well done Aiden.

rocks
fall
off the cliff

(by Nathan)

*again, this gets the simplicity vote. Good work.

I stare at trees
during a heavy
storm

(by Brooke B)

*the believability of this poem is valid for over the weekend there was a sudden storm of hail throughout Brisbane. But the feeling of the writer experiencing the wonders of nature are unbeatable, here we have a person just staring at the trees as it rains. Lovely, we get a snapshot of the writer's personality appreciating nature too which I think is just awesome!

clouds drifting
around
the waterfall

(by Josiah)

*the reader can get several takes from this, we could be seeing actual clouds around the waterfall, or it could be that we are seeing the 'mist' or 'cloud' formulated from the crashing waves on to the ground.

Top 9 Haiku - Second Song

the grass
waving
at the river

(by Aiden)

* loved the use of the word 'waving'.

sun
carefully crossing
the river

(by Blair)

* either the sun is crossing the river, or the person is. Makes you think. Fantastic haiku!

butterflies
shine through
the sky

(by Sarah)

*we're seeing lots of colour from the butterfly, and its all illuminated by the bright sky.

the sun is reflecting
off the ocean when
I stare

(Brooke B)

* a bit of a happy-staring at the waves this time!

tree branches
fall
on to the ground

(by Sam)

*how did the branches fall to the ground? What caused it in particular? Makes us think.

winter river
whistling
down stream

(by Gemma)

*either the river is whistling or the person walking by it is, or both! Great work.

smelling
a river
in the breeze

(by Tyler)

*I can smell it already. So fresh.

the rainbow crosses
the long
field

(by Maselusi)

*the use of 'rainbow' and 'long' work particularly well, they compliment each other.

I see
bee to bee fly
while sun sets

(by Blair)

* what intrigued me about this haiku is the expression 'bee to bee', reminiscent of a dot to dot activity that a child may do, or even in reference to the stars that will be visible very soon in the haiku...

Well done 4A! Some excellent haiku here, Mr. Pham

Grand Avenue State School Grade 5A Haiku

Week 6 of the school term down. And what a week it has been! Today I taught at the lovely, respectable school of Grand Avenue State School, Grade 5A. I particularly like this school, the students are generally so well-behaved and respectful. Respect! On with the haiku heavyweights of today:

cacti

growing tall

under a moon

(by Cooper)

trees sway

fresh air

giving life

(by Tema)

bells 

ring

at dawn's rise

(by Cooper)

butterflies

flutter

through the lush trees

(by Sarah)

a snake slithers

into a crack

in the rock

(by Caleb)

apples drop

at wind's 

breeze

(by Cooper)

birds fly

through

the bendy hills

(by Ayush)

summer night

owls screech

in between dreams

(by Aleksandar)

birds chirp

while

trees blush

(by Samantha)

stone bridge 

stands in silence

all day long

(by Kasey)

Wow grade 5A, the quality of haiku in this series is just fantastic!!! I am so pleased and impressed with all of your efforts. Keep up the good work! I can definitely see some potential future poets and authors, if you aren't already! :-) Blessings upon you! Mr. Pham.

Serviceton South State School Grade 6H Haiku

Today, at Serviceton South State School I find myself teaching grade 6H, and again spreading the good word of haiku around state schools. These students are awesome, some of their haiku just as good, if not, even better than you would see in world class haiku journals. Here we go the usual rules, examples, and listening activities were implemented, and presto some amazing, AMAZING haiku have been created. I love these kids, so talented.

Here we go, the TOP TEN HAIKU (for song 1, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AMnOFmwMSs)

flowing waterfall
shimmers moonlight
and colours mystify eyes

(by Rhiannon)

moonlight
being shone
on all of the villages

(by Mitchell)

deep blue waves
wash away the remnants
of my sorrow

(by Katheryn)

forest walk
a werewolf's eyes glowing
through the moonlight

(by Mikaela)

hot sunset
shines through
swaying palm trees

(by Monique)

summer beach
hush rhythms
on the sand

(by Tai)

summer bird
chirping love
in its nest

(by Laura)

trees sway
from wind
giving birds a ride

(by Hana)

fresh trees
growing
side by side

(by Donna)

And then here are the TOP TEN HAIKU for song 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y80ofCkPbdE)

sunrise
animals
start to wake

(by Tayah)

forest walk
watching bear cubs play
as the sun rises

(by Mikaela)

lunar eclipse
birds
in darkness

(by Tai)

seaweed sways
like its
dancing

(by Rhiannon)

soldiers die
blood pours
while sun sets

(by Koopa)

autumn leaves
brush
my face

(by Cecilia)

trees grow
in the light
of a silvery moon

(by Keirrah)

sea roars
on
the sand

(by Taylah)


Amazing work 6H of Serviceton South State School!!! Some truly world-class, inspiration haiku you have amongst you all. I highly encourage you to keep writing, and walking in the path of light and nature, as opposed to the path of dark man-made distractions. My best wishes, Mr. Pham.

So recently I was asked to write my Bio for a poetry event happening on December 1st, 2012. Here goes:


Bio:

Vuong Pham is a schoolteacher of English and SOSE. He likes teaching his students poetry and haiku at any chance the principal is not looking. His poetry has received awards in the ‘Ipswich Poetry Feast Competition’ (2011, 2012); the ‘Inspired by Tagore International Writing Competition’ (2012); and the ‘Free XpresSion Haiku Competition’ (2012). Vuong’s first book is due to be released mid next year, and is also working on his haiku book, which will be published after his first book. Some of Vuong’s hobbies include playing outdoor and indoor soccer, nature walks, and practicing piano via YouTube video tutorials. He strongly identifies as a devout Christian and walks in the light. He blogs occasionally at http://versesoftheinnerself.blogspot.com. 

Haiku (Raw Poet, Roar!)

Haiku

empty field

the sound of church bells

from the hilltops

• 
  

driving to church
and in the rearview mirror—
darkness

• 
  

through churchyard mist

a stone angel

forming

• 
  

stained glass window
through the open arms of Jesus
a sunbeam

• 
  

multiplication lessons...
sunlight finds the green
in painted glass

• 
  

step by step

dawnlight stretches

across the hopscotch game

• 
  

phone talk...
birdsong lifts
between the branches

• 
  

end of the lesson...
chalk smudges
into a rainbow

• 
  

• 
  

stone angel
naked in the garden—
only a bird whistles

• 
  

spring breeze
along the forest path
laughter

• 
  

up the path
to read Goldilocks
under that old oak

• 
  

sleepwalking
between pine branches
in  ter  mit  tent moon

• 
  

shooting stars
in the laptop screen
I see myself

• 
  

hibiscus tea

at the bottom of the cup

a dragon

• 
  

smiling

beside the family portrait—

crescent moon

(c) Vuong Pham

maths exam
the classroom clock
clicks clicks clicks

Haiku All-Stars

Well, another day in the office [classroom] another exciting visit to 4/5 K of Redbank State School! I just love the ability and talent I see in these students with their creative thinking and writing. We did another brief haiku session in the morning, followed by some English lessons and Art. Here are some further Haiku All-Stars we made during the morning's haiku session.

noisy water
falls next to
the trees

• 
  

sand
singing
in the wind

• 
  

the sunset
blinding
me

• 
  

trees
covering
the temple

• 
  

splash
of rocks
in the stream

• 
  

A+ Mr. Pham.

dandelion ridge...
a soft breath carries away
my wish

Haiku courtesy of students in 4/5K @ Redbank State School

Today I was given the privilege of teaching the students of 4/5 K at Redbank State School. During this year, I have chosen to do Relief Teaching, and that entails going from class to class, school to school over the course of the week. I am enjoying this gig for now, it gives me more time to focus on my two books coming out in 2013. More often than not, I am called in to a class where the teacher has called in sick on the morning and has left no plan as to the day's activites. Not a worry! I always have my own stuff I like to teach i.e. poetry, HPE, anything English or SOSE related. What I taught 4/5K today was the poetry artform of haiku. I was so, so impressed with the quality of works, I am most compelled to blog about it. Before I share with you the "Haiku All-Stars", as we decided to call it, the lesson goes a bit something like this.

Haiku

Is a:

• short, three-lined poem
• a snapshot of something in nature using words
• avoids rhymes
• does NOT have to be a 5-7-5 syllable count

(These are the general rules for haiku I got them to write down in their books. I explain dot point by dot point the rules... First, a haiku is a short poem, so the length of it would barely reach half-way in their exercise books, and also that it has three lines. Secondly, haiku is a snapshot of something in nature using words, similar to the concept of a camera taking a photo, except in the case of haiku we are using our words to describe that thing in nature. Thirdly, haiku avoids rhymes, reason being is that the poetic use of rhyme is a form of 'trickery', in the lyrics of pop-songs for example, rhymes are employed to add rhythm and catchy-ness, but when we're dealing with the artform of haiku, we want to just simply capture that moment in time for what it is. Lastly, and perhaps the most important point of all, is that haiku does NOT have to be a 5-7-5 syllable count! A common misconception in the general public and in schools as well, the reason why is that if we're so focused on the number of syllables in each line, the process of writing haiku becomes more of a math game, as opposed to a form of art or a beautiful image, that is after all, the focus.)

Then we move on to Examples of Haiku: 

tired of bamboo gazing
I look to the pond--
bamboo reflection

(by Vuong Pham)

roadside puddle
a street dog licks
the winter moon

(by Chen-ou Liu)

my house burnt down
now I can better see
the rising moon

(by Basho)

(for each haiku example I ask the students for two things 1. the image and 2. the narrative. The first haiku we see an image of a bamboo shrub, a pond and its reflection; the narrative is I am looking at the bamboo for a very long time, so I get tired of staring at it, because I am tired of staring at it for so long I wish to divert my attention to something else, so I look to the pond, but then all I see is the reflection of bamboo in it, I usually get a few laughs for those that do get it. The second haiku is by Chen-ou Liu, one of my favourite haiku of all time, images we are seeing are a road, a puddle, a streetdog, the moon; the narrative is we are taken to a street at night, a dog comes along licks the puddle, and because the puddle has a reflection of a moon in it, it appears that the dog is licking the moon, a beautiful image! I then go on to make the point about figurative language, and that we are not robots, but human beings that have such potential to think creatively, or 'outside the box' [classroom]. The last haiku is my all time favourite haiku by Basho, image: a house burnt down, a rising moon. There is so much going on in this haiku. Obviously the author's house burnt down, so all of his possessions, and particularly his roof, now that his roof is gone, he has a better view of the moon. But it doesn't stop there. It tells us so much about the author he has a positive mindset, values nature over material things.)

I then move on to Haiku Listening:

We listen to a song that has nature connotations in it. From the Gladiator soundtrack, "Earth". A very calming song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AMnOFmwMSs. And once we finish listening to the song we list down everything we experienced from the song in terms of the five categories of senses: Sight, Sound, Feel, Taste, Smell.

Based on everything we have listed in the diagram, we move on to Haiku Image. This is where the magic happens. Everything the students have listed in each category, they are to convert it in to the form of an image. And based on the image they have drawn, they are then going to circle and capture the image they have circles by writing a haiku about it. So that's the general gist of the lesson. Enough on the pedagogy of the lesson I am most excited and honoured to be sharing with you some haiku my students wrote today!

Haiku All-Stars from students of 4/5 K @ Redbank State School

the desert wind
whistled
in my ears

branches
falling off
the trees

trees swaying
in the breeze
that pick the leaves

water splashed
on the kid's
shining boots

autumn leaves
sway
in my hair

there is a blueberry pie
sitting
at the window

the sweet smell
of the flowers
tickle my nose

the waving grass
joins
the trees

the colours
of seashells
brighten my eyes

the moon
bathes
in the river

the trees curve
to form
a cave

the smell
of leaves
in the canteen

Bravo to you all students of Redbank State School, you all inspire me so much! Mr. Pham.

For my KBC peeps

Recently a friend from church posted on Facebook about the smell of rain. I have always loved the pleasant aromas accompanied by rain, there's something so therapeutic and calming about the whole experience. Recently at dusk, I turned off the electrical light bulbs in the shower room, (while having a shower) to focus in and enjoy the sounds and smells of rain (which I thought, enhanced my enjoyment of it, possibily by shutting out one sense of sight, to enhance the sound and smell). I always feel compelled to be writing poetry on rainy days, or being tucked up on the couch while reading a book, Jane Eyre I'm reading at the moment. In any case, here's a poem I wrote during 2011 dedicated to the smell of rain, or as some others may call it, "petrichor". It earnt me a prize in the Ipswich Poetry Feast Competition, 2011, where I received 15 hours mentorship with a renouned poet, and a certificate of "Highly Commended". Well, today there's some promising clouds outside, and can offer more possibilities of petrichor! Enjoy.  

Petrichor

A
lull

in the

first rain

after a dry

spell breathes

a suspense like

no other. Its silence

calms the exhaustion of

hysterical trees shrugging

off drought. Its scent lingers

between blackberry lanes that

bare their chests to the drizzle,

air-coffeed with earth. Its arrival

is crystal chrysalis awakening on

hot tin roofs like popcorn baking.

The remains are along staves of

fence wire, hanging dewdrops

of broken notes. They offer

peace, that is a trickling

sun, to the puddle's

heartbeat...

plop

(c) Vuong Pham

 

P.S. Another good place to enjoy rain is 'RainyMood.com', you won't regret it!

In principle then, an absurd measure would have to be taken to make me stop biting my nails... hmmm someone's suggested nail polish before, the level of absurdity is in proportion

empty field
the sound of church bells
from the hilltops