I should have blogged on Friday. So what else is new? Like a bad penny I eventually turn up. I remain, I hope, a Goddess of Storytelling. And what is my story to-day? I have Googled and Googles to find the words to a little poem I used to recite when I was a kid. My Scottish mother had a wealth of poems and stories in her memory bank. Stories of living in Trinidad as a child. Ghostly tales. Skipping poems from her Scottish childhood. But the poem I am searching for isn't Scottish but it's one my mother could recite and did, so I learned it.
Goddesses, do any of you or your far flung relatives know all the verses to this little poem that starts like this: "Little cherry blossom lived up in a tree, And a very happy little thing was she, Clad all through the winter in a dress of brown, Warm she was though living in a northern town..."
Cherry blossom saw the sunshine, felt its warmth and against the sage advice of the south wind cast off her brown coat to flaunt her pink blossoms. Unfortunately, the north wind blew and poor blossom "took a cold and died." Then a moral lesson ends the poem, warning little children to beware of the "sin of pride."
You may well ask, why do I want this poem? Because it has been running around inside my head and I can't remember all of it. Do any of you have songs, music, poems, lines from Shakespeare elbowing into your consciousness? Sometimes I have to shoo them away when they become a nuisance. Mark Twain penned a very funny little essay about a catchy phrase bouncing around inside his head. I should look it up but I'd have to go look and I haven't got time!
And having caught your attention here's the cover of my romantic suspense, Too Young To Die. It will be released on JUNE 5! Yeh. My fifth book with Cerridwen Press. Check my web site for information about my books. Read excerpts. Reviews. And find out who I really am.
Anita
3 comments:
I think this is the poem you are looking for. I'm actually a seller on eBay (seller id = admatha) - and someone emailed me the same question - looking for the poem. In my search to give her an answer I ran across your query, as well as the poem:
THE CHERRY BLOSSOM.
Little cherry blossom
Lived up in a tree,
And a very pretty
Little thing was she;
Clad all through the winter
In a coat of brown,
"Warm she was though living
In a northern town.
But one sunny morning,
Thinking it was May,
"I'll not wear," said blossom,
'' This brown dress to-day."
So she let her brown dress
Drop and blow away,
Putting on a white one,
That fine sunny day.
ANONYMOUS.
I know this is some years after your original query but I thought I'd respond anyway.
I'm very familiar with this poem or song, as my mother used to play it on the piano, whilst we sang along. I still have her original sheet music (pretty old now).
From memory, the words go something like this:
Little Cherry Blossom lived up in a tree,
and a very happy little thing was she.
Clad all through the winter, in her dress of brown,
Warm she was though living in a northern town.
Then one sunny morning, thinking it was May,
"I'll not wear", said Blossom, "this old dress today."
Mr Breeze, this hearing, very kindly said,
"Do be careful, Blossom, winter has not fled."
Blossom would not listen, for the sky was bright,
And she wished to glisten in her robe of white,
So she let the brown one drop and blow away,
Leaving her the white one, all so fine and gay.
Pretty soon the sunshine faded from her view.
How poor Blossom shivered, as it colder grew.
Oh, for that warm wrapper lying on the ground,
How Jack Frost will nip her.. He is prowling 'round.
Ah, poor Cherry Blossom, she in foolish pride,
Shed her nice warm clothing, took a cold and died.
All you little blossoms, hear me and take care,
Go not clad too thinly and, of pride, beware!
My mum is 94 now and she was telling me about her mum singing this song to her as a wee girl but she couldn't remember the end , I'll google it I said , didn't believe I could find it and now she's so happy to know the ending about 85 years later lol , thank you 😊
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