Lyric's

 You choose who you are, what you represent and who you want to become. 

Bask

It was a hot day today in the winter. 

I sat with the sun shining on my arm.

There was silence and stillness to bask in. 

I watched the pulse in my wrist like a metronome. 

Then I stared at the piano wondering what it sounds like. 

Stryker Game Next Thursday Night

 The Empire Stryker's indoor soccer team has another home game this Thursday night vs. Utica City FC, who typically usually has a solid team. It should be a great game considering the level the Stryker's have been playing at. The overall intensity of the team has increased monumentally this season. I don't know if you're familiar with "runners high" or not but if you are, you understand that when you're running, you go through a period of time where you don't think you can make it through any more strides. Once you push through that point where you thought you couldn't keep going, your body rewards you with the "runner's high". 

This is when you feel as if it's easy (pleasurable really) to keep going and feels completely natural to continue. It seems as though the Stryker team has found their "runners high", so to speak, in the flow of the games. It makes it so fun to watch because of the gorgeous plays that emerge in that state of the game. I hope this level of play continues and the team is consistent with this type of improvement. The fans have been helpful, the entire Toyota Arena is increasingly welcoming, and the Stryker team is pushing past former performance boundaries all around, improving the overall experience. 

The next home game is on February 5th is at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California at 6:35pm. Parking is $15. For more information, visit theempirestrykers.com. 

Stryker Games this Season

 The Empire Strykers have two upcoming home games. The first home game is on Thursday, January 22nd vs. the San Diego Sockers at 6:35pm (doors open at 5:35) and Sunday, January 25th vs. the Kansas City Comets at 4:05pm (doors open at 3:05). The home games are at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. Parking tickets have increased and are now $15 per car. For tickets to the game or more information about the Empire Strykers, visit TheEmpireStrykers.com. 

Blackbird by Harvard Opportunes

 

Heritage in a Performance

 

My Madrigal

Madrigal: "a part-song for several voices, especially one of the Renaissance period, typically arranged in elaborate counterpoint and without instrumental accompaniment." -Bing

"Madrigal is the name of a form of poetry, the exact nature of which has never been decided in English. It is one of the types of poetry in the 18th century figurative system of human knowledge..." -Wikipedia 

One more time

If I could see your face

See that smile light up

Your bright eyes

I would, I love you. 

God Willing

We stare out the window at the pouring rain. 

I go to school and sit at the piano to write. 

The words emerge through the keys. 

The thunderstorm, the new baby, the beautiful family, the rain. 

But there's no record of it.

Just the building of the song, the love of playing. 

My parents, in their love I play as if I can do anything I wish for.

Moo

I look at the cow's face, and I think she's staring at me

I'm sorry for eating meat, I think. 

Her nose drips and I wonder if she's crying.

I learn about her importance, and I hope to appreciate her more. 

I laugh out loud when the kids cheer as she picks her nose with her tongue. 

I thought about her four toes while she stood on only two. 

I looked at her hip bones standing proudly on her lower back. 

Her rack of ribs.

The way her body twitches and her tail swings to ward off the bugs. 

She stared me in the eyes. 

I gave her a little smile. 

Thou

Grant us understanding

Guide us

Protect us

Provide for us

Peace be with you

Mother us

The Lord is with thee

Strengthen us

Amen

The Cavities that Hold Our Parts

 The body’s cavities. 

Dontal me it’s all connected. 

Baby skin soft.  

Umbilical Cord Clip

That animal tale.

National Enquirer says it's happened. 

Surgically remove tail. 

Lab Images

View from space. 

Far as microscope can see. 

Is planet Earth.  

Motor Neurons Haiku

The squishy brain. 

Those dragon fruit motor neurons. 

Transmitting bossy instructions.  

Transverse Tree Trunk

 Tree of bones. 

Human bones made of these. 

Tree trunk bones.

BHS Chorus How Like a Winter

"Shakespeare’s famous line from Sonnet 18:

"Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade…"

Earlier in the same sonnet, he asks:

"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?" — and in contrast, winter in Shakespeare often symbolizes barrenness, aging, or hardship.

If you mean “How like a winter hath my absence been”, that’s actually from Sonnet 97, where Shakespeare writes:

"How like a winter hath my absence been
From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!"

Here, he’s saying that being apart from the person he loves feels as bleak, empty, and lifeless as winter, even if the actual season is summer or autumn. It’s about the emotional “winter” inside him." - Chat GPT

Illumina Oculos Meos

"Latin (Psalm 12:4 in the Vulgate / Psalm 13:3 in many English Bibles)

Respice, et exaudi me, Domine Deus meus; illumina oculos meos, ne unquam obdormiam in morte.

---

Literal English Translation

Look upon me and hear me, O Lord my God; enlighten my eyes, lest I ever sleep in death.

"Illumina oculos meos" is Latin for "Enlighten my eyes" or "Light up my eyes".

It’s a phrase that appears in the Vulgate (Latin Bible), specifically in Psalm 12:4 (which corresponds to Psalm 13:3 in many English versions):

Illumina oculos meos, ne umquam obdormiam in morte.
“Enlighten my eyes, lest I ever sleep in death.”

Here, “illumina” comes from illuminare — “to illuminate, to light up, to make bright.” It’s metaphorical for granting understanding, hope, or vitality.

In this psalm, the speaker feels abandoned by God and is crying out for help. The request to “enlighten my eyes” carries multiple layers:

1. Physical Restoration – In the ancient Hebrew sense, “eyes” are tied to vitality. Dim or closing eyes symbolized life fading away. Asking for them to be “enlightened” is a plea for renewed strength.

2. Spiritual Illumination – It’s also about insight and clarity. To “light up” one’s eyes means to receive divine understanding — to see truth instead of stumbling in darkness.

3. Emotional Reviving – On a poetic level, the line is a cry for hope. Darkness in the eyes reflects despair; light represents joy and renewed purpose.

---

Poetic Parallels

Shakespeare often used similar imagery — the eyes as windows to the soul, reflecting life or love.
For example, in Sonnet 43:

“When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see…”

In both the psalm and Shakespeare’s sonnets, the eyes are not just organs of sight — they’re mirrors of the heart, indicators of inner light or darkness." - Chat GPT

Hanerot Halalu

""Hanerot Halalu" (הנרות הללו) is Hebrew for "These candles" (or more precisely, "These lights").

It’s the name of a short prayer/song traditionally recited right after lighting the Hanukkah candles.

---

Text (in Hebrew & Transliteration)

הנרות הללו אנו מדליקין על הנסים ועל הנפלאות ועל התשועות ועל המלחמות שעשית לאבותינו בימים ההם בזמן הזה...

Hanerot halalu anu madlikin al hanisim ve’al hanifla’ot ve’al hateshu’ot ve’al hamilchamot she’asita la’avoteinu bayamim hahem bazman hazeh…

---

English Translation (opening lines)

These lights we kindle for the miracles, for the wonders, for the salvations, and for the battles that You performed for our ancestors in those days, at this season…

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Purpose & Meaning

• It’s a declaration of why we light the Hanukkah candles — not for personal use, but to publicize the miracle of the Maccabean victory and the oil that lasted eight days.

• It emphasizes gratitude and remembrance of God’s interventions “then” and “now.”

• Traditionally sung or recited after the blessings over the candles, while watching the lights burn." - Chat GPT

🇿🇦 South Africa – “Unity in Diversity”

 Foundational Document: Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996)

🌟 Core Principles & Rights

Adopted after the fall of apartheid, South Africa’s 1996 Constitution is a visionary charter for democracy, human rights, and social justice. It’s considered one of the most progressive constitutions in the world.

Key constitutional rights include:

• Right to equality and protection from discrimination

• Right to life, dignity, and freedom from violence

• Right to housing, healthcare, food, water, and education

• Freedom of religion, expression, and political participation

• Labor rights, including fair working conditions and collective bargaining

• Recognition of cultural, religious, and linguistic communities

The Constitution is underpinned by values of human dignity, equality, non-racialism, non-sexism, and accountability in governance.

📝 Why This Matters

South Africa’s Constitution demonstrates the power of rebuilding a nation through hope, law, and shared humanity. Anchored in the philosophy of Ubuntu—“I am because we are”—it challenges us to see justice not as a privilege, but as a right. It’s a living blueprint for healing, reconciliation, and unity through diversity. 

“We, the people of South Africa… believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.”
– Preamble, Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996)

“I am because we are.”
– Ubuntu proverb

- Chat GPT

🇫🇷 France – “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”

 Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité: The Heartbeat of France

“Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.”

– Article 1, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)

France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, born from the flames of the French Revolution in 1789, forever changed the world’s understanding of human rights. Rooted in Enlightenment ideals, this document declared that freedom, equality, and the power of the people are not luxuries—but natural rights.

Its three guiding principles—Liberty, Equality, Fraternity—still serve as the French Republic’s national motto today. These values continue to echo across classrooms, courtrooms, and communities, reminding us that democracy is a living conversation between past, present, and future.

As educators, leaders, and neighbors, we can carry these ideals into our daily work. Liberty is found in every child who finds their voice. Equality is in every classroom built on inclusion. Fraternity is in the way we show up—for each other—every day.

France reminds us: when the people rise together for justice, history listens.

- Chat GPT