1. Today in class the freewrite is a response to one of poems Alehouse "Poetry on Tap." . Post your response here.
2. Post your answers to the questions for your social entrepreneur, plus the document search at the link given.
3. Monday, April 27, bring in all your graded work or a list to complete Portfolio Checklist 1. We will meet here (L-202E).
Si No Hablamos
Si no hablamos para alabar a la Tierra,
es mejor que guardemos silencio.
Loa al aire
que llena el fuelle del pulmón
y alimenta la sangre del corazón;
que lleva la luz,
el olor de las flores y los mares,
los cantos de las aves y el aullido del viento;
que conspira con la distancia
para hacer azul el monte
Loa al fuego
que alumbra el día y calienta la noche,
cuece nuestro alimento y da ímpetu a nuestra voluntad;
que es el corazón de la Tierra, este fragmento de lucero;
que quema y purifica por bien o por mal.
Loa al agua
que hace a los ríos y a los mares;
que da sustancia a la nube y a nosotros;
que hace verde a los bosques y los campos;
que hincha al fruto y envientra nuestro nacer.
Loa a la tierra
que es el suelo, la montaña, y las piedras;
que lleva los bosques y es la arena del desierto;
que nos forma los huesos y sala los mares, la sangre;
que es nuestro hogar y sitio.
Si no hablamos en alabanza a la Tierra,
si no cantamos en festejo a la vida,
es mejor que guardemos silencio.
© Rafael Jesús González 2009
Escrito especialmente para el Congreso Mundial de Poetas,
Tai'an, Provincia de Shandong, China, otoño 2005
(Siete escritores comprometidos: obra y perfil; Fausto Avendaño, director; Explicación de Textos Literarios vol. 34 anejo 1; diciembre 2007; Dept. of Foreign Languages; California State University Sacramento; derechos reservados del autor.)
If We Do Not Speak
If we do not speak to praise the Earth,
it is best we keep silent.
Praise air
that fills the bellow of the lung
& feeds our heart's blood;
that carries light,
the smell of flowers & the seas,
the songs of birds & the wind's howl;
that conspires with distance
to make the mountains blue.
Praise fire
that lights the day & warms the night,
cooks our food & gives motion to our wills;
that is the heart of Earth, this fragment of a star;
that burns & purifies for good or ill.
Praise water
that makes the rivers & the seas;
that gives substance to the clouds and us;
that makes green the forests & the fields;
that swells the fruit & wombs our birth.
Praise earth
that is the ground, the mountain, & the stones;
that holds the forests & is the desert sand;
that builds our bones & salts the seas, the blood;
that is our home & place.
If we do not speak in praise of the Earth,
if we do not sing in celebration of life,
it is best we keep silence.
© Rafael Jesús González 2009
Written especially for the World Congress of Poets,
Tai'an, Shandong Province, China, Autumn 2005
(147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability: Connecting the Environment, the Economy, and Society; Timpson, William M. et al, Eds., Atwood Publishing Co., Madison, WI; 2006; author's copyrights
Rafael Jesús González
P.O. Box 5638
Berkeley, CA 94705
my blogs/mis blogs:
rjgonzalez.blogspot.com (English)
rjgonzalezg.blogspot.com (español)
2. Post your answers to the questions for your social entrepreneur, plus the document search at the link given.
3. Monday, April 27, bring in all your graded work or a list to complete Portfolio Checklist 1. We will meet here (L-202E).
Si No Hablamos
Si no hablamos para alabar a la Tierra,
es mejor que guardemos silencio.
Loa al aire
que llena el fuelle del pulmón
y alimenta la sangre del corazón;
que lleva la luz,
el olor de las flores y los mares,
los cantos de las aves y el aullido del viento;
que conspira con la distancia
para hacer azul el monte
Loa al fuego
que alumbra el día y calienta la noche,
cuece nuestro alimento y da ímpetu a nuestra voluntad;
que es el corazón de la Tierra, este fragmento de lucero;
que quema y purifica por bien o por mal.
Loa al agua
que hace a los ríos y a los mares;
que da sustancia a la nube y a nosotros;
que hace verde a los bosques y los campos;
que hincha al fruto y envientra nuestro nacer.
Loa a la tierra
que es el suelo, la montaña, y las piedras;
que lleva los bosques y es la arena del desierto;
que nos forma los huesos y sala los mares, la sangre;
que es nuestro hogar y sitio.
Si no hablamos en alabanza a la Tierra,
si no cantamos en festejo a la vida,
es mejor que guardemos silencio.
© Rafael Jesús González 2009
Escrito especialmente para el Congreso Mundial de Poetas,
Tai'an, Provincia de Shandong, China, otoño 2005
(Siete escritores comprometidos: obra y perfil; Fausto Avendaño, director; Explicación de Textos Literarios vol. 34 anejo 1; diciembre 2007; Dept. of Foreign Languages; California State University Sacramento; derechos reservados del autor.)
If We Do Not Speak
If we do not speak to praise the Earth,
it is best we keep silent.
Praise air
that fills the bellow of the lung
& feeds our heart's blood;
that carries light,
the smell of flowers & the seas,
the songs of birds & the wind's howl;
that conspires with distance
to make the mountains blue.
Praise fire
that lights the day & warms the night,
cooks our food & gives motion to our wills;
that is the heart of Earth, this fragment of a star;
that burns & purifies for good or ill.
Praise water
that makes the rivers & the seas;
that gives substance to the clouds and us;
that makes green the forests & the fields;
that swells the fruit & wombs our birth.
Praise earth
that is the ground, the mountain, & the stones;
that holds the forests & is the desert sand;
that builds our bones & salts the seas, the blood;
that is our home & place.
If we do not speak in praise of the Earth,
if we do not sing in celebration of life,
it is best we keep silence.
© Rafael Jesús González 2009
Written especially for the World Congress of Poets,
Tai'an, Shandong Province, China, Autumn 2005
(147 Practical Tips for Teaching Sustainability: Connecting the Environment, the Economy, and Society; Timpson, William M. et al, Eds., Atwood Publishing Co., Madison, WI; 2006; author's copyrights
Rafael Jesús González
P.O. Box 5638
Berkeley, CA 94705
my blogs/mis blogs:
rjgonzalez.blogspot.com (English)
rjgonzalezg.blogspot.com (español)
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 8:15 AM
5 Comments:
Rebecca Evans eng 1a 9-10 4/23/09
response to Earth day poem
Rafael Jesús González does a beautiful job in capturing the importance of earth. We all take earth and its resources for granted. When people discovered fossil fuels they seemed an endless, harmless and cheep source. We have damaged our world atmosphere with the over use of fossil fuels, Chlorofluorocarbons (cfcs), and methane production. As González states, the air we breathe is all we have, it is our key to life. The earth has a unique atmosphere that provides equilibrium of oxygen to the carbon dioxide produced by respiration. However, as humans continue to cut down trees, expand the population, burn and emit gases into the atmosphere quickly overtakes the natural processes set forth by earth.
Water is also a sacred vessel of life. The human body can go no longer than three days without water. With the growing population weather cannot create water fast enough. In developing countries uneducated citizens dump trash, wash clothes, and bathe in the same water they drink leaving the water unsanitary, dirty, and a breeding ground for diseases. Other developing countries are tapping aquifers faster that rainwater can replace the underwater streams. A social entrepreneur profiled in Frontline World, Trevor Field, created the Play Pump which is an excellent idea, in theory, to provide water however; there are also serious side effects. He wants to install Play Pumps throughout Africa and with so much underground water drilling the countries face possible earth collapses due to unbalanced soil and deprivation of water for lack of ability to refill.
The earth is no doubt in peril. Even if we were to stop burning fossil fuels and emitting toxins in to the air, oceans, and land we would still be facilitating global warming, because the earth needs to catch up with the damage from humans, and this would take at least 100 years! We are quickly reaching a point of no return. We need individuals to do their part everyday as well as government regulations to educate, protect and provide.
Jose Vasquez
4/23/2009
9-10
English 1A
Earth day poem response
I really like Rafael Jesus Gonzalez poem Si No Hablamos because of the way that he expresses his feelings towards mother earth. Rafael Jesus Gonzalez talks about how important the four elements of life really are for humans. He explains how nature and humans use every element. He explains that we should praise the elements because people do not take care of them. He states that our body is made out of water and that we need clean air to stay alive. He feels that it is time for all nations to get together and try to combat global warming. Rafael Jesus Gonzalez to me sounds like a social entrepreneur who cares about the environment and feels that through his poetry he could reach young people and hopefully inspired them to look out for our mother earth.
Mesha Shavers
English 1A
Professor Sabir
24 April 2009
My response to the poem: Si No Hablamos
I enjoyed reading Si No Hablamos by Rafael Jesús González, he spoke in depth about our Mother Earth, and how she sustains us, for this we do owe her praise.
We need the ground to til, so we can plant seeds that grow our fruits and vegetables, with out water they will not grow. We need air to breathe, and trees provide oxygen which allows the blood to travel to our hearts. The fire cooks our vegetables that we grow from the ground we til, that provides trees which produces oxygen so we can breathe. See how it all works together, so speak good things about Mother Earth any less are just words from an empty tongue.
Andre Stephens
English 1A – 9:00 – 9:50
Earth Day 2009 Response
The poem, “If We Do Not Speak,” is about just how important the earth is. Also, the author mentions how we should give praise and adulation to the air, fire, water and earth. Earth is one of the most unique and interesting planets we have. It provides us with vital resources. A few of them are fuel, sunlight and water. If we don’t do our part to conserve and reduce pollutants, we will not give future generations a chance to experience or enjoy mother earth.
Hong Tang
English 1A 9-10am
Earth Day Response: Si No Hablamos
The inspiration of Rafael Jesus Gonzalez’s poem, Si No Hablamos reflected on how he sees mother earth. His intensions are based on the reality of earth where not everyone is cherishing earth as a life itself. Earth is what gave us birth and without a clean environment to live in, earth will soon died as well as human beings. This poem can be a message to every human being as a wake up call. He also stated the importance of water in which the world are losing more and more clean water each and every day. As the water get contaminated, human will suffer from many different kinds of diseases due to the contaminated water. In today’s world, I believe many people are more cautious about their living style than before. Most people are taking careful steps in life to prevent any circumstances that will destroys mother earth.
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