For Frank Tassone’s May challenge—another aspect of the month.
white dresses
veils flutter in spring breeze
white shoes pinch
the memory of cold streets rings
hollow childhood gone
Tanka: May processions
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For Frank Tassone’s May challenge—another aspect of the month.
white dresses
veils flutter in spring breeze
white shoes pinch
the memory of cold streets rings
hollow childhood gone
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What will the future bring? bittersweet. (K)
A world without May processions I hope.
Reblogged this on Frank J. Tassone and commented:
#Haiku Happenings #5: Jane Dougherty’s latest #tanka for my current #haikai challenge!
Thank you, Frank 🙂
My pleasure, Jane! 😇
🙂
I remember the May possession at school, all of us carrying rose petals to scatter. Out of the infant’s entrance around the streets to the the senior school entrance… All the way singing AVE Maria. 😁💜
You too? I hated it! We walked from the school to the church. The route went through a housing estate and the Protestants would line the route and give us filthy looks. It was always freezing cold too. Did you sing
‘I’ll sing a hymn to Mary,
Oh mystic rose what tree
no flower in its finest
is half so fine as thee
so let me de de lowly
a de de de de de de
when wicked men blaspheme thee
I’ll love and bless thy name.”
I still remember bits of it.
Yes we did we Catholics we were all the same.
Bring Flowers of the Fairest
A shortened version:
Bring flowers of the rarest,
Bring blossoms the fairest,
From garden and woodland and hillside and dale;
Our full hearts are swelling,
Our glad voices telling
The praise of the loveliest flower of the vale.
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
Their lady they name thee,
Their mistress proclaim thee,
Oh, grant that thy children on earth be as true
As long as the bowers
Are radiant with flowers
As long as the azure shall keep its bright hue.
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
Sing gaily in chorus,
The bright angels o’er us
Re-echo the strains we begin upon earth;
Their harps are repeating
The notes of our greeting,
For Mary herself is the cause of our mirth.
Another version:
Bring flowers of the fairest,
Bring flowers of the rarest,
From garden and woodland
And hillside and dale;
Our full hearts are swelling,
Our Glad voices telling
The praise of the loveliest flower of the vale.
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
Our voices ascending,
In harmony blending,
Oh, thus may our hearts turn
Dear Mother, to thee;
Oh, thus shall we prove thee
How truly we love thee,
How dark without Mary
Life’s journey would be.
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
O Virgin most tender,
Our homage we render,
Thy love and protection,
Sweet Mother, to win.
In danger defend us,
In sorrow befriend us,
And shield our hearts
From contagion and sin.
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
Of Mothers the dearest,
Oh, wilt thou be nearest,
When life with temptation
Is darkly replete?
Forsake us, O never!
Our hearts be they ever
As Pure as the lilies
We lay at thy feet.
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May,
Blimey! I only remember the first bit of that one and the chorus where you had to draw out
that final
Queen ooooooooof the May.
The repertoire wasn’t very varied,was it? I remember all the words to Faith of Our Fathers though and Hail Glorious Saint Patrick. Those were the days 🙂
Oh! Yes they were, the most miserable days of my life. The Nuns disliked me because I was not clever like my eldest sisters… I was a tubby child until I was thirteen then I was too thin… I was picked on and bullied by the other girls! I had one great friend but we could really only be friends out of school because she was a year above me and the Nuns disapproved of us..we were friends! I loved English Literature, I loved words and I loved singing though I have not much of a voice😱 so bad memories but words lyrics they stick… Oh! Gosh where did that rant come from. 💜💜
Where did you live? I have wonderful memories of school. The head (a nun) had very progressive ideas, lots of art, singing, orchestra, trips out, science, nature study, poetry and creative stuff. She left the school when it began to get popular because of its good results and posh people were claiming to be Catholics to get their kids accepted. It used to be the pits, poverty-stricken families, Tinkers and refugees from the Troubles in the North. Fashion and Tony Blair changed all that. My old head went to run an orphanage in Serbia after the war. As far as I know, she’s still there.
So evocative, Jane. Something I’ve only read about. I know how you hated it though. 🙂
It meant one thing in Catholic countries where the whole population was carrying statues around the streets. It meant something completely different when a bunch of immigrants paraded through hostile territory. They don’t do it now because there’s no hostility anymore;
I suppose it happens here in some neighborhoods.
The Italians maybe still do it.
Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
Thank you again!
April Love and May weddings! Great memories for many!
Dwight
May processions for us though weren’t weddings they were carrying statues of the Virgin and Saint Patrick through a hostile town, all the kids following dressed in white and singing hymns. Completely traumatising.
Wow! I never heard of this before reading your piece! How interesting.
What is really weird is that when I was a child in the 60s and 70s only the Irish living in England were Catholics and the English didn’t like us. The May Procession that the priest insisted was a ‘declaration of faith’ was seen by the Protestants as a declaration of war and they made it quite clear they didn’t like us parading through their streets with satanic effigies. Now being a Catholic in England is cool and they all want to be Catholics, so the May Processions are starting up again.
How interesting the way culture changes!
It is! How people become more tolerant too.
That one we are still working on….
Just testing 🙂
I nominated you for the versatile bloggers award. See todays post.
🙂