Words and Tunes

Dear colleagues,

Last Thursday afternoon we had our second edition of Words and Tunes. We had 5 students from MP1, MP2 and MP5 perform their own poems, as well as contributions from Chris Ellison and Sophie Auton.  Gerwin’s DP1 and DP2 Music students provided some lovely tunes in between the words.

This is Violeta and Federica’s poem about mobile phones. (And no, I did not tell them to write this.)

Streets stare attentively as we wander back to our homes
Bumping into all obstacles, like lampposts and cones
Because everything disappears when you are glued to your phone.

Our guardians didn’t need any phones
Instead, they threw stones
In the beautiful shimmering sea
And now we need our phones to truly feel free
Though this is all a trick, you will dive into the internet with one click

With their eyes stuck to the screen
They can’t see where they’re going,
Accidents happen way too much
And this number is growing

It is our biggest possession, that’s what they say
Really more like biggest addiction, today

If we only knew, before spreading all these trends
How much our brains just twist and bend
Instead of always scrolling, chatting on your phone.
Just sing and laugh or simply try to be alone.

We forgot the sound of bees buzzing
We forgot the smell of air
We forgot how to go out and collect some pears
Let’s stop sitting down on that same old chair, where you get carried away by the internet to see something super rare.
even though you can call 112 or you can find a recipe to make a stew, we use that as a silly excuse

Next year we plan on doing this again and despite the fact that we intend to keep this event small scale and low-key and we really only want people who want to be there, we would love for this event to gain just a little more traction. Just like this year all students (and teachers) of RLO will be invited to perform a poem either of their own making or someone else’s that they like. Any language is welcome. We’d love to have you and some of your students join us!

Jeannie, also on behalf of Gerwin