A poem for the rainforest –Song of Xingu Indian

Judith Nicholls

Before reading …

1. What do you know about rainforests and their role in stabilizing the world’s climate and maintaining the water cycle? How does chopping down rainforests in other countries affect us in South Africa?

• Rainforests absorb carbon from the atmosphere during the day and release oxygen at night.

• When they are chopped down or destroyed in other ways, large amounts of carbon dioxide that they would have absorbed are released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas (leading to what is often referred to as the greenhouse effect).

Before reading …

• This leads to global warming, drought, floods and climate change.

• We in South Africa, as part of the Earth, are affected along with every other part of the globe.(Many species of insects and animals also lose their habitat.)

Before reading … 1. What do you know about rainforests and their role in stabilizing the world’s climate and maintaining the water cycle? How does chopping down rainforests in other countries affect us in South Africa?

Vocabulary

• Dusk: the time before night when it is not yet dark

• Scuttles: run hurriedly or furtively (secretively) with short quick steps.

• Canopy: an ornamental cloth covering hung or held up over something, especially a throne or bed.

A poem for the rainforest

They have stolen my land;

the birds have flown,

My people gone.

my rainbow rises over sand, my river falls on stone

Amazonian Timbers Inc.

This cannot go next –

here, let me draw the line.

That’s roughly right, give or take

a few square miles or so.

I’ll list the ones we need.

A poem for the rainforestNo burn the rest.

Only take the best,

We’re not in this

For charity.

Replant? No –

You’re new to this, I see!

There’s plenty more

where that comes from,

no problem! Finish here

and then move on.

A poem for the rainforestDusk

Butterfly, blinded

By smoke, drifts like torn paper

to the flames below.

Shadows

Spider,

Last of her kind,

Scuttles underground, safe;

Prepares her nest for young ones. But

None come.

A poem for the rainforest

The coming of night

Sun sinks

behind the high canopy;

the iron men are silenced.

The moon rises,

The firefly wakes.

Death pauses for a night.

A poem for the rainforest

Song of the forest

Our land has gone,

Our people flown.

Sun scorches the earth.

Our river weeps.

A poem for the rainforest

2. We are given a number of perspectives during this poem. Now how the mood and the tone shift with shift of perspective.

A poem for the rainforest – Tone and Perspective1st Stanza

They have stolen my land;

the birds have flown,

My people gone.

my rainbow rises over sand, my river falls on stone

Tone:

• Desolate/Unhappy

• Loss

Perspective

• People living in the rainforest

A poem for the rainforest – Tone and Perspective2nd and 3rd stanza

Amazonian Timbers Inc.

This cannot go next –

here, let me draw the line.

That’s roughly right, give or take

a few square miles or so.

I’ll list the ones we need.

No burn the rest.

Only take the best,

We’re not in this

For charity.

Replant? No –

You’re new to this, I see!

There’s plenty more

where that comes from,

no problem! Finish here

and then move on.

Tone:

• Arrogant

• Lack ofempathy

• Ignorant

• ruthless

Perspective

• Developers

A poem for the rainforest – Tone and Perspective4th and 5th Stanza

DuskButterfly, blindedBy smoke, drifts like torn paperto the flames below.

ShadowsSpider, Last of her kind,Scuttles underground, safe; Prepares her nest for young ones. ButNone come.

Tone:

• Distress

• Sadness

• Anger

• Hopelessness

Perspective

• Environment

A poem for the rainforest – Tone and Perspective6th Stanza

The coming of night

Sun sinks

behind the high canopy;

the iron men are silenced.

The moon rises,

The firefly wakes.

Death pauses for a night

Tone:

• Reflective

Perspective

• Environment

• People of living in the rainforest

A poem for the rainforest – Tone and Perspective

7th Stanza

Song of the forest

Our land has gone,

Our people flown.

Sun scorches the earth.

Our river weeps.

Tone:

• Finality

Perspective

• Environment

• People of living in the rainforest

Earth Song: Michael Jackson

What about sunrise

What about rain

What about all the things that you said

We were to gain

What about killing fields

Is there a time

What about all the things

That you said were yours and

mine

Did you ever stop to notice

All the blood we've shed before

Did you ever stop to notice

This crying Earth, these weeping shores

Aah, ooh

Earth Song: Michael Jackson What have we done to the world

Look what we've done

What about all the peace

That you pledge your only son

What about flowering fields

Is there a time

What about all the dreams

That you said was yours and

mine

Did you ever stop to notice

All the children dead from war

Did you ever stop to notice

This crying earth, these weeping shores

Aah, ooh

Aah, ooh

Earth Song: Michael Jackson I used to dream

I used to glance beyond the stars

Now I don't know where we are

Although I know we've drifted far

Aah, ooh

Aah, ooh

Aah, ooh

Aah, ooh

Earth Song: Michael Jackson Hey, what about yesterday

(What about us)

What about the seas

(What about us)

The heavens are falling down

(What about us)

I can't even breathe

(What about us)

What about apathy

(What about us)

Drowning in the seas

(What about us)

What about the promised land

Preachin' what I believe

(What about us)

Aah, ooh

Earth Song: Michael Jackson What about the holy land

(What about it)

What about the greed

(What about us)

Where did we go wrong

Someone tell me why

(What about us)

What about baby boy

(What about him)

What about the days

(What about us)

What about all their joy

Do we give a damn

Aah, ooh

Earth Song: Michael Jackson

After reading -Questions

3. Of the five genres which follow, choose the one that you feel best describes this poem. Give a reason for your choice.

a) A praise poem -

b) A ballad

c) A sonnet

d) A protest poem/song

e) A traditional song

Types of poemsPraise poem

It refers to poetic expression that not only defines but names an individual. Praise poetry is written with bold imagery, expressed in the most distinct or carefully selected language. Writing a praise poem is to write about your life and the events or sacrifices that have brought you to the moment you are in today.

Types of poems

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French chanson balladée or ballade, which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Britain and Ireland from the later medieval period until the 19th century.

Types of poems

Sonnet

The sonnet is a popular classical form that has compelled poets for centuries. Traditionally, the sonnet is a fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter, employing one of several rhyme schemes, and adhering to a tightly structured thematic organization.

Types of poems

Protest poem/song

Protest poems or protest literature refers to works that address to real socio-political issues and express objection against them. For instance, the feminist poem "Daddy" is also a poem of female protest.

Types of poems

A traditional song

Traditional songs are those which have been passed down by word of mouth perhaps across many generations.

After reading - Questions

4. In your opinion, which of the lines that the Amazonian Timber representative speaks most, show how his heartless business-like attitude?

5. Who are “the iron men” of stanza 6?

6. Why do none of the spider’s babies come to the nest she has prepared?

7. Contrast the first and last stanzas. Focus particularly on the verbs.

After reading -Questions

8. With your new found understanding of why rainforests are important. Write a short letter to the Amazonian Timbers Inc, about your concerns about what they are doing to the rainforest.