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Global Warming Is Increasing

Shilpa — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:29:47 +0000

Global warming is increasing,
Species and their habitats are decreasing;
All human-induced.
We throw rubbish on the streets,
And plastics in the creeks,
Not caring what will happen,
To the life living under,
The once-clear blue water.

Tigers and lions,
Once so tall and proud,
Now lie under blank dark shrouds.
Birds of colorful feathers,
Are now tethered,
To the fate of this earth,
By human hands.

I do feel frightened,
Of the fate that will befall,
Our generation someday,
I wish I could stall,
This dreadful decay.

Conservation, conservation,
Everyone talks about it,
Everyone discusses it,
Everyone debates about it,
But does anyone really do it?
This is a futile hope,
Until everyone starts caring,
About the environment,
The answer to that is, “ Nope!”
They probably never will.

Empathy

Shilpa — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:26:55 +0000

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a family of wood rats in a forest that bordered a great city. The family lived contentedly in their cosy home under the oak tree, and they were well known by all the animals for their generosity and kindness.
The father was a rather well read fellow, who believed in cultivating good morals in his children and raising them to be compassionate and strong. The mother had a warm, maternal character. Under her care, her two children’s mischievousness was met with neither harsh words nor hard blows, but with gentle rebukes, which were full of understanding. As a result, you couldn’t find more well-behaved and angelic young rats in the district.

On the other hand, the city rats were exactly the opposite of their relatives. They were ignorant as their cousins were educated, selfish as their cousins were generous, corrupt as their cousins were honest, cruel as their cousins were kind, and harsh as their cousins were gentle. They were loathed by all who knew them; even cats ran away in terror when they saw them. Their children were spiteful little bullies, though they had not one ounce of courage, and the other young rats were firmly instructed to keep away from them.
Now, it so happened that the city rats began to bore of the life they had chosen, and began to long for the cool shade and silence of the trees. However, the father, who had never done an honest days’ work in his life, detested the thought of setting up a whole new home again. So, taking advantage of the fact that their kin lived there, they packed that very night and set off. The two children jumped with joy. “We shall have new prey to bully!” they said, for they were the kind of rats who thought that understanding and kindness equated to weakness.

The wood rat father was highly annoyed when he found his disheveled and indolent cousins on his doorstep, though he invited them graciously into the warmth of his home and bade them to beds of the softest straw.
Once they were asleep, he informed his wife and children of the new arrivals. The children gaped at him in horror. They had never met their cousins personally, but they had heard stories about them. However, as their mother placidly said, they would just have to deal with it. “Perhaps we shall find a way to school them into good behaviour,” she said optimistically. They agreed to try out this little experiment and resolved to meet the next night in the children’s room to discuss the outcome.
The wood rat children spent all day with their cousins, and were full of indignation that night. “They painted the zebras yellow, and pulled on poor Kangaroo’s tail!” they chorused angrily. The wood rat father was equally annoyed and related that the city rat father was highly unpleasant company. The mother said that the city rat mother was astonishingly lethargic and had spent all day snoring in bed and ordering about for meals. Nevertheless, she suggested that they continue the experiment for a few more days.
Day after day, each night’s discussion brought forth more examples of the city rats’ horrid behaviour. Then, one day, when the wood rat mother was on the verge of giving up, the city rats displayed the most surprising good conduct ever.

Said the city rat mother, “Would you please show me some of your delicious recipes?”
Said the city rat father, “Would you please teach me how to read the newspaper?”
Said the city rat children, “Would you please teach us how to make those beautiful toys?”
The wood rat family was flabbergasted at this sudden change of behaviour but quelled their doubts and set about helping their relatives with good grace, and the feeling that maybe the experiment was not so futile after all.
That night, the wood rat family, unable to contain their astonishment, questioned their relatives as to why they were suddenly so pleasant.
“You helped us!” they said.
“You helped us see how very silly we were. We wanted to be liked, and to be loved as you are. We understand now, the feelings of others, and we will not bully again!”

“EMPATHY CAN’T BE TAUGHT, BUT IT CAN BE CAUGHT”

The Echo

Shilpa — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:24:51 +0000

The boy’s eyes took the beautiful scenery before him, which was lit up by the rising sun. The glowing, apple-red ball sat almost exactly in between two ice-capped mountains, spreading its rays far and wide, painting the sky a lovely pink, orange and blue mixture. The lush, rolling hills surrounded the mountains, and brown and white cows munched sedately on their morning meal. The scene was picturesque, and looked exactly like a painting in a museum.
If one looked upon this scene from afar, their eyes would travel over dewy green grass, and if one looked closely – very closely – he or she might just spot a tiny figure, a speck of blue and white, standing on a cliff at the very edge of a flat-topped hill.
The boy’s hands curled into fists as he gripped his denims, his knuckles turning white as he struggled to control his fear of heights. The cliff fell away to a deep chasm, the bottom of which no eye could see, even though he squinted as hard as he could.
He fought with himself for a few minutes, and finally managed to bury and lock his fear in a tiny box at the back of his mind. He had not come for the view. He had come to meet his friend.
He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the clear, sweet mountain air.
“Hello!” he bellowed with all his might, his clear voice resounding all over the mountains, hoping – as always – that his friend was there to reply.
“Hello…” came back the faint call, again, as always. His heart leapt with joy, though he was disappointed his friend couldn’t be louder. Not as loud as me he thought proudly for a moment, Papa says I have the best lungs in the whole village.
“How are you?” he yelled back. “How are you…you…” said his friend.
The boy frowned. His friend was repeating his words, again. Could he think of nothing to say? “Stop that! It’s annoying!” he screamed, stamping his foot. “Stop that…annoying…ing” came back the infuriating call.
The boy pounded his fist against the palm of his other hand, as he’d seen wrestlers do on television. He sparred with his papa nightly, and he was sure he could best his irritating friend.
I’ll teach him a lesson he thought grimly. “I’ll get you!” he said. “I’ll get you…you” came back the maddeningly mocking reply.
Now, he was filled with indignant rage. His friend dared to talk back to him! “You wait,” he muttered under his breath. “Just wait.”
He glanced right and left. There were no bridges of any kind that could take him across to his friend; to do that he would have to walk around the whole border, which would take days. That was the safe path – but he was afraid if he got there too late, his friend wouldn’t be there anymore.
He was afraid, too, of the gaping black hole that stared up at him when he looked down. If he fell in…
I’m brave he thought, not feeling brave at all. I can do it.
He’d need a lot of speed to put enough power into his legs to jump, so he ran back till he could barely see the edge of the cliff. He was confident he could do it. His father always said he could run like the wind. And didn’t the wind blow across the cliffs every day?
He began running, the wind blowing his straw-yellow hair back from his face, his blue eyes wide and fearful, his small nose and chubby cheeks pink with cold, and his closed mouth had the queer expression that appears when one clenches one’s teeth. His short, stubby legs flashed in and out and he pumped his arms as hard as he could. The edge of the cliff was racing toward him.
Gathering the power in his legs, he jumped with a loud “Yaaaaah!” his face turned and arms outstretched towards the sun, as if he hoped to embrace it.
Nearby, in the fields, a mother called for her son…

Squealer

Shilpa — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:22:47 +0000

Squealer the Pig,

Was friends with Napoleon the Pig,

He was a good dancer,

And an excellent prancer,

Everyone listened to Squealer the Pig.

Napoleon the Pig

Shilpa — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:17:37 +0000

Napoleon the pig,

Wanted to wear the big white wig,

So he threw Snowball,

Over the big brown wall,

How very devious was Napoleon the pig.

Snowball the Pig

Shilpa — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:15:04 +0000

Snowball was a pig,

Who wore a big white wig,

Over the farm he presided,

All the choices, he decided,

How very smart was Snowball the pig.

MoMo

Shilpa — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:12:30 +0000

A girl who lived in Toronto

Had a brown dog named MoMo

His bite was worse than his bark,

His teeth left a mark,

The ferocious dog called MoMo.

Bunny the Frog

Shilpa — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:07:30 +0000

Bunny the Frog,

Got stuck in a bog,

He twisted and wriggled,

The mean things giggled,

How very angry was the Frog!

Dan the Pan-Man

Shilpa — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:04:50 +0000

The Man got his head stuck in a pan,

Fast as a hare, away he ran,

People screamed at the sight of this weird Pan-Man,

Some realized, “Oh! It’s Dan!”

How very stupid was the Man in the Pan.

LOL, BRB, OMG

Shilpa — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:36:23 +0000

I’ve never understood these short forms,

They were used left, right and center,

By my friends when they passed notes.

Until the day I started using Facebook,

It isn’t a book,

It’s a place for people to meet,

Socialize and greet.

Short forms everywhere,

Here and there.

They became the Language,

Of Teens everywhere.

LOL, OMG and BRB,

Teens became used to these,

They made mistakes in essays,

Teachers despaired; but what could they say?

Even now, despite warnings,

Teens are attached to that dreaded place,

Ruining their language and wasting their time.

But how can I blame anyone?

For I am a teen too.