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.