Seasons South and North

Redheads

I went to the zoo a while ago and found these lovely redheads. What a magical colour.

  

  

 

It is such an exquisite hue, it melts the solar plexus.

©2010 Anne Morddel

Seasons South and North

March Is Autumn, March Is Spring

March is a dramatic month in terms of weather. In parts of Europe and North America, it usually arrives with wind and rain and the first displays of crocuses and daffodils. It is the very beginning of spring. One of the most well-known of all weather proverbs is :

"If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb; if March comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion."

The meaning being that if the month begins with stormy weather, it will end with sunshine; if it begins with warm, calm weather, it will end with storms. Whatever the order, March is certain to be blustery and wet at some point. William Wordsworth (1770-1850) described March in Britain in his classic poem:

Written in March

The Cock is crowing,

The stream is flowing,

The small birds twitter,

The lake doth glitter

The green field sleeps in the sun;

The oldest and youngest

Are at work with the strongest;

The cattle are grazing,

Their heads never raising;

They are forty feeding like one!

Like an army defeated

The snow hath retreated,

And now doth fare ill

On the top of the bare hill;

The plowboy is whooping - anon - anon

There's joy in the mountains;

There's life in the fountains;

Small clouds are sailing,

Blue sky prevailing;

The rain is over and gone!

In the southern hemisphere, March is autumn, the end of summer, yet in many places also wet. In the rainforest regions of South America, summer is a time of incessant warm rain, culminating in March. In autumn, the last of the big rainstorms pelt down to an already sodden land, then some time during the month, finally stop. So, in many parts of the world, whether it is autumn or spring, March can be relied upon to be wet. Surely the greatest poem about wet March in South America is the lyrics to the song by 

Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994):

Aguas de Março

(Waters of March)

It's a stick, it's a stone,

It's the end of the road,

It's the nub of the stump,

It's a little alone.

It's a sliver of glass,

It's life, it's the sun,

It's night, it's death,

It's a lasso, it's a fish hook.

It's the peroba-do-campo*

It's the knot in the wood,

Cainga, Candeia**

It's the Matita Pereira***

It's the wind in the woods,

The tumble down the bank,

It's the profound mystery

It's the "want" or "don't want".

It's the wind blowing,

It's the bottom of the hill,

It's the beam, it's the void,

It's the barn-raising party.****

It's the raining rain,

It's the river bank talking

Of the Waters of March,

It's the end of field work.

It's the foot, it's the ground,

It's the beat of marching down the road,

It's the bird in the hand,

It's a slingshot's stone.

It's a bird in the sky

And a bird on the ground,

It's the brook, it's the spring, 

It's the piece of bread.

It's the bottom of the well,

It's the end of the road,

It's the look of disgust,

It's a little alone.

It's a thorn, it's a nail,

It's a telling, it's a tale, 

It's a point, it's a dot, 

It's a sprinkled drop.

It's the fish, it's the gesture,

It's a shining silver,

It's the morning light,

It's the roof tiles arriving.

It's the firewood, it's the day

It's the end of bitterness,

It's the glass of rum, 

It's the sliver on the road.

It's the project for the house,

It's the person in bed,

It's the car that's stuck,

It's the mud, it's the mud.

It's a river crossing, it's a bridge,

It's a toad, it's a frog,

It's a remnant of the forest

In the morning light.

It's the Waters of March

Closing the summer,

It's the promise of life

Within your heart.

It's a snake, it's a stick,

It's John, it's Joe,

It's a thorn in the hand,

It's a cut in the foot.

It's a river crossing, it's a bridge,

And a toad, and a frog,

It's a beautiful horizon,

It's a miserable cold.

It's the Waters of March

Closing the summer,

And the promise of life 

Within your heart.

(my free translation)

*    The peroba-do-campo (Aspidosperma tormentosum) is a semi-deciduous tree that grows throughout Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.

**     Cainga  (Moldenhawera floribunda) is a tree of the Atlantic Rainforest with beautiful bright yellow flowers.

    Candeia (Piptocarpha rotundifolia) is a small, deciduous tree that grows throughout Brazil.

***    The Matita Pereira is the Striped Cuckoo (Tapera naevia) which can be found across 85% of South America. The Brazilian folkloric character, Saci-Pererê, can turn himself into this bird at will.

**** The festa da cumeira is a party to help a person who has built the framework for his house or barn and is ready to thatch or tile the roof. It is similar to the richtfest in Germany or the barn-raising in North America.

Things To Do With Poems About March

Hear the Wordsworth poem read aloud:

http://classicpoetryaloud.podomatic.com

Hear the most well-known interpreter of the Waters of March, Elis Regina,  sing the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRqI5R6L7ow

Write a March Poem

For the very young, while it is important to hear and perhaps even memorize Wordsworth's poem, it is a bit too much to expect them to to produce a formal poem, but how joyously they would be able to create an impressionistic poem or song such as Jobim's lyrics. As a group activity, have the children call out their strongest impressions of what they have observed outdoors this month while you write them on a long band of brown paper. Have them colour in the borders and then hang the masterpiece on the wall. Alternatively, each child can write two or three observations on a piece of paper, adding drawings. Then, tape them all together in a long band to hang on the wall. Have everyone try to sing them along with the easy chant of the song.

If you play guitar, here is the fingering for playing the song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUX9S9OuG0Q

N.B. "Aguas de Março" has been recorded by over 80 artists and used in many advertisements. It is quite possible that some of the children may know the tune.

©2009 Anne Morddel

Seasons South and North

Unless otherwise noted, photos from www.photobucket.com

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