Month: August 2018

A SWIM IN THE POOL: Primary Poetry

sengu15038@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sgUncategorized

Here I am,

Jolly like a snowwoman.

 

I have all right,

To swim all night,

In the cold freezing pool,

WITH MY best friend SMASH.

I DIP MY TOE IN,

IT’S FREEZING COLD.

I LEAN TOWARDS THE EDGE,

SHE PUSHES ME IN.

 

“AGHHHH!!!” I SCREAM.

I TRY TO CATCH HER,

SLIM SLENDER ANKLES.

 

SHE RUNS TOO FAST AROUND THE POOL,

I TRY TO FAKE MY FALL,

AND HURT MYSelF.

WHEN SHE COMES TOWARDS ME,

TO TAKE A LOOK.

I PUSH HER IN SIDEWAYS,

RIGHT INTO THE POOL.

 

SHE SCREAMS AT ME AND GRABS A FLOAT,

AND SO DO I BOB MY HEAD OUT OF THE HOLE.

WE STRETCH OUR ARMS OUT,

TO SPIN OURSELVES INSIDE THE FLOATS.

AND CLOSE OUR EYES,

TO TWIRL SLOWLY FROM THE SKY.

 

SMASH LETS GO FIRST, SINKING UNDERWATER,

I PULL HER UP, AND SCREAM AT HER.

I HOPE SHE ARGUES,

BUT SHE ONLY SMILES BACK.

 

I CALL HER A POOP BAG AND THAT JUST DOES IT,

SHE WALKS OUT OF THE POOL,

AND RETURNS TO POUNCE ON ME.

SHE TRIES TO DROWN ME,

AND CALLS ME A STICK.

 

SHE OPENS HER BLACK HAIR,

LIKE LETTING DOWN A LION’S MANE

AND SHAKES IT IN MY FACE.

I GRAB A SMALL STRIP AND,

NEARLY PULL IT OFF HER HEAD.

 

SHE SQUEALS VERY LOUDLY,

LIKE A PIGLET HIT WITH A CANE.

SHE PUSHES ME UNDERWATER,

AND COUNTS TO 10.

 

SHE GOES TO THE STEPS AND CALLS ME TO PLAY,

I AGREE WITH HER AND SWIM TO THE BAY.

IN THE NEXT MINUTES WE ARE MERMAIDS.

 

SMASH IS CORAL AND I’M DELPHINE.

I AM THE DOLPHIN,

I PLAY AND CATCH LEAVES THAT FALL FROM ABOVE,

SMASH AS CORAL TELLS ME WHAT TO DO,

AS I FOLLOW LIKE A BEAGLE HUNTING FOR FOOD.

 

WE USE THE FLOATS AS HOOLA HOOPS,

FOR ME TO JUMP LIKE IN ARIAL TROOPS.

 

BUT ALAS!

WE HAVE LOST OUR LOVELY TAILS,

AND DISAPPEARED ARE OUR SILVERY SCALES.

WE ARE HUMANS AGAIN!

I ASK SMASH,

“DO YA WANNA PLAY BREAK DANCE?”

“DUH!”

 

WE FLING OUR BODIES INTO THE POOL,

AND DO HANDSTANDS UNDERWATER, HOLDING OUR BREATHS.

SMASH JUMPS AND DOES A TRIPLE ROLL.

 

“WOOOHHHOOOO” WE CHEER,

UNTIL MY MOTHER CALLS ME HOME.

I WALK BACK, HOLDING SMASH’S HAND.

WHEN I WALK UP THE FIRST 2 STEPS ON THE FRONT PORCH,

I TURN AROUND, BUT NO ONE IS THERE.

“MUM, CAN SMASH AND I WATCH T.V?”

”SMASH? WHO’S SMASH?”

“THE ONE I SWAM WITH.”

”WHAT? THERE WAS NO ONE THERE WITH YOU. I WATCHED YOU ALL THE WHILE…!”

BEDTIME STORIES: Primary Poetry

sengu15038@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sgMy Writing

12:00 o’clock at night,

I lie on my right,

Smash holds my hand.

 

I look around inside my room,

All covered in clear white and blue.

The sound of thunder against my window,

I know the rain is coming.

I hold my teddy close to me,

In case I have a nightmare.

 

Just before I close my eyes,

I hear a voice so very soft.

”Jonny Murder inside your house!”

I hear the front door close slowly.

It creaks when it closes,

I hear 3 clicks very clearly.

 

I squeeze Smash’s hand, too scared to speak,

I close my eyes shut to ignore, but the voice comes back.

”Jonny Murder climbing up the stairs!”

 

Light footsteps echo after the voice,

I hope all the things and voices are happening inside my head.

My bunny and dog close,

I breathe in and breathe out.

I ask Smash,

”Whats going on? Will Jonny kill us?”

”No, we will live, just have faith and love. Think of something happy.”

She replies.

 

The voice is repeating,

”Jonny Murder is in front of your door!”

I cover my mouth to stop from screaming,

The door opens.

I pretend to be asleep, as rigid as a corpse.

 

I quickly peak at this ”Jonny Murder,”

But there is no one there.

Only a shadow moves on the wall.

The white curtain slides close silently,

Smash covers me for protection.

 

Footsteps are coming towards us,

I squeeze my eyes shut.

”Jonny Murder going to kill you!’

”AHHHHH!!!!”

I scream……

 

Light burns my eyes,

I hear the windows opening.

Mother sits next to me looking worried.

I reach for Smash,

My hands search for her’s.

But she is not there.

 

I touch my throat.

”Am I alive?”

DROWNING DREAMS: Poem for Grade 5 exhibition

sengu15038@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sgMy Writing

(This poem is about a young girl from the Caribbean Island of Haiti whose family died during the earthquake of 2010 & the Cholera Epidemic afterwards)

Water, water, water, water.

That is all I can think of.

The heat is killing me,

My body covered with rashes.

They itch and burn, itch and burn.

 

Senya was long gone, gone, gone.

Her last words were,

`Dear sister stay strong’

Mother and Father, Mother and Father,

Do they lie down next to each other?

 

For I am alone,

thats all I know.

In the camp where its cold and dark.

And I do never feel another spark,

Of happiness, of life.

 

They are all dead, dead, dead

No water means no life

Now I realize

Why we all die.

 

The clean, clear, pure,

Has disappeared in smoke.

 

I see the pipes broken in half,

The water is spilling from the tap.

It splashes on the dusty ground.

People waiting in queues rush to find

Just like bats, completely blind.

 

They dig out the water

Muddy, and unsanitized.

But nothing stops them.

They are thirsty, their throats dry.

 

Ever since the earthquake hit our land

I knew my life was about to end.

Even if I survived.

I would die,

Homeless, hungry, dehydrated as the days went by.

 

The people who rushed to the water,

Lay down staring at the sky,

Wishing they had never drunk at all

For the deadly Cholera

Which made us cry.

 

Her daughter died,

His son left,

Parents lost or laid in beds.

Now it is time,

My time has ended.

I shall now go and seek in the clouds,

For the people I love the most.

 

Water, water, water, water,

Water was all we needed.

A drop of the clean, clear pure

And the many millions would not have sailed away.

 

BY:

Ananya Sengupta

 

This the grade 5 video as our trailer

Cast: Ananya, Hazel and Alex

My Paper Sail

sengu15038@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sgMy Writing

This is the dock,

This is my paper sail,

And these, these are my hands,

Resting on the edge of the wooden planks

 

At a waterfront which harboured,

Souls and minds till time devoured

It was a place of remembrance,

A place of invitation

 

If you looked down,

You wouldn’t see the bottom

She was like a rippling spring,

So close, yet so shallow

 

The water was light against the moon,

And the stars veiled the sky and twinkled,

Like her eyes when she looked up at me,

With tears streaming down her face

 

I reached down and placed my sail,

Pushing them further into the waves,

The foam and the waves rose high,

And drowned her

 

So I followed her down,

Through the frigid blue,

Until I could see nothing,

Until the beating of my heart stopped

 

Darkness, was where I expected to be,

Where I belonged,

Stranded in a cage of frigid water,

Alone and desolate.

 

Still sinking further,

Into the fathomless spring,

Deeper and faster,

Till slowly does it creep towards me

 

The dim light of a sail slowly coming towards me,

Gradually flowing and weaving,

Through the icy water

Wisps of light wrapping me

 

Consuming me unconditionally,

And the stars come alive again,

Veiled and unleashed,

Through a galaxy of sparkling stars, I spun within

 

And then I recall,

Her screams echoing,

Through the walls

And the thundering crash of glass

 

As I collapse unto the river bed

The sick feeling of a sweaty fever devouring me,

As my hands tingled at the memory of blood

Which still stained my palms

 

And now I’ll lay here,

Listening to the endless howling

Of a woman whose soul was given

For me to keep

 

And if you looked down now,

You’ll see nothing

But a river of sin

Stained with tears.

 

This was the dock,

And she was my paper sail,

And these were my hands,

At the edge of the wooden planks

Where it all began.

Uncovering Switzerland’s Neutrality

sengu15038@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sgReading Reflections (super cool research)
A few days ago, I was studying history and I was focusing on World War One. A question that really struck  me was:
“What was Switzerland doing this whole time and how were they not involved?”
So I did some research and found out that Switzerland is in Central Europe and is home to several lakes, villages and the high peaks of the Alps. There happen to be four languages spoken in Switzerland aside from English. There is German, French, Italian and Romansh.
Now the real question is, how is Switzerland keeping away from wars?
It turns out that Switzerland is a ‘neutral country’ which is one of the central principles of Switzerland’s foreign policy. This policy indicates that Switzerland is ‘not to be involved in armed conflicts between other states’ This policy is known to be self-imposed and permanent and was created to guarantee external protection and favor peace. Switzerland has not participated in the foreign war as this policy was declared and established in the Treaty of Paris in 1815, post the Battle of Waterloo. The Battle of Waterloo was also the last war the Swiss participated in.
Despite their system of neutrality, Switzerland had military customs. In the 1500s, Swiss soldiers were most feared and sought after in Europe. The last country Switzerland had invaded was France in 1815, two weeks after the Battle of Waterloo! The last time the Swiss army fought was in 1847 during the Sonderbund (a brief civil war). Ever since the Swiss troops had mobilized twice again potential invasion when she was threatened in 1856-57 by Prussia during the Franco-Prussian War.
The reason as to why the Swiss refused to further participate in military events after the Battle of Waterloo is that during the several wars Switzerland engaged in, this region was used as a haven for refugees leading to overpopulation. Similarly, it was used to aid countries by providing military supplies. A reason why Switzerland was so sought after was that of their military tactics. The Swiss had found alternate and easy ways to carry equipment to their forts in the Alps. This constant use by other countries for their war purposes was a reason for Switzerland to wish for a neutral status.
At the start of the First World War, from a population of about 3.5 million the Swiss had some 220,000 front-line troops available, in addition to well over 200,000 reserves: a grand total of some 450,000 men. The main army comprised eight divisions, defending a country that was 180 by 300 kilometers (110 by 190 miles).
The remaining Swizz soldiers had become recruits after the Battle of Waterloo. Several of the men between the ages of 20-48 were recruits. Their training lasted for fifty days and the majority of the troops did 12 to 18 days of “refresher” training every alternate year. After 12 years of serving in the “Active Army” men served an additional 12 years in the Landwehr reserves. All men between seventeen and fifty were trained for service in the Landsturm militia. Every man was to keep his rifle at home to accelerate the process of mobilization. This is still done today. Officers had to first serve in the ranks which later allowed them to work as mercenaries.
Switzerland maintained its impartial position through World War I, when it mobilized its army and accepted refugees but also refused to take sides militarily. In 1920, meanwhile, the newly formed League of Nations officially recognized Swiss neutrality and established its headquarters in Geneva. A more significant challenge to Swiss neutrality came during World War II, when the country found itself encircled by the Axis powers. While Switzerland maintained its independence by promising retaliation in the event of an invasion, it continued to trade with Nazi Germany, a decision that later proved controversial after the war ended.
 Since World War II, Switzerland has taken a more active role in international affairs. It has never joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or the European Union, and only joined the United Nations in 2002. Despite its neutrality, the country still maintains an army for defense purposes and requires part-time military service from all males between the ages of 18 and 34.