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Humanising Language Teaching

Three New Poems

  • Rushan Ziatdinov, Russia and South Korea

Rushan Ziatdinov is a professor of engineering, applied mathematics and education. He taught in Russia, Turkey and is teaching now in the Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Keimyung University in Daegu, Republic of Korea. He holds a PhD degree from Ulyanovsk State University, Russia. E-mail: ziatdinov@kmu.ac.kr

Groundhog Day

Get up, wash your face, get dressed.
A sigh, a cuppa, then on your way.
At your desk you're already stressed
And every day's like Groundhog Day.

You crave improvements in your life
That's how you dream your days away
But what's a day without some strife?
You're sick and tired of Groundhog Day.

Life's a panoply of colour -
A rich variety that never fades.
But Groundhog Days are truly duller
They have no scope for nuanced shades.

Time to begin a change tomorrow
It's all in your hands - no other way.
I'll be your companion in your sorrow
My heart and soul both pine away.

And so the next day you get up...
Look in the mirror at yourself, and smile.
You feel different about yourself within.
You haven't wept now for quite a while -
Now that must be worth a euphoric grin!

Black Lake Park

Near the white walls of the Kazan Kremlin
There used to be a lake, they say.
But after the rule of the great Red gremlin
The lake just vanished clear away.

White swans among its reeds once sailed
And children loved to romp and play.
In winter, kids shimmied and bobtailed
On darting skates on frosty days.

Not a seagull swoops o'erhead now
Nor lands on that once-golden perch.
The only bird here now's the ravenous crow
Cawing for food, with a lugubrious lurch.

Take a look for yourself... and recall...
Don't let such things happen, there's too much to lose.
Something worthwhile is a right for us all
In each of our lives, yes - and no matter whose.

Cosmonaut

Lift-off!!! The rocket takes to the skies
With a fiery burst as its engines roar.
Tongues of flame as the motors rise
Melt even metal and stone to the core.

In just a heartbeat, you're here in orbit
With a porthole-glimpse to the earth so bright.
A new galaxy! Can you even absorb it?
Yes it's you - making the first maiden flight.

Weightlessness is the next task ahead
If it weren't for your childish elation
As your feet rise above your poor head
You'd feel yourself tumbling to eternal damnation.

You did it! You soared like a bird.
The moon's face shines in your face
The warmth of the Earth now so blurred
As it spurs your endeavour apace...