“Jobim” Album Cover Painting: ‘Matita Pere’ by Paulo Hermanny Jobim
March. The end of February…a dark flat gray month, long in spite of its truncated number of days.
March. “My” month…our wedding anniversary is in March, my birthday is in March, my SAD begins to lift in March.
March. Named after Mars, not only the Roman god of war but also the guardian of agriculture.
March. “Comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.” Or sometimes the reverse…in any case it is active alive vibrant with promise hope growth.
March 1 the sun rises two minutes earlier and sets one minute later than February 28.
March 14 is “Save A Spider Day”. I like spiders.
March ushers out winter, and brings the beginning of Spring with the Vernal Equinox, this year on March 20 at 9:57, when the center of the sun is aligned with the earth’s equator.
March 31 the sun rises one hour earlier than on February 28 and sets one hour and twenty-five minutes later than on February 28.
“And the riverbank talks
of the waters of March,
It’s the promise of life
It’s the joy in your heart”
Antonio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (more commonly known as Antonio Carlos Jobim) expresses it best in “Waters of March”.
The original is a poem Jobim wrote in his native Portuguese “Águas de Março”, rather than settling with a direct translation he rewrote the poem in English. Both have been beautifully transformed into song–released on the album “Jobim” 1973–the music also by Jobim. “Águas de Março” was inspired by Rio de Janeiro’s rainiest month, March. Yes and I love the sun, but also I love the promise and hope and lightening up of March.
Jobim expresses so well my love of March, the hope it brings me, here is a little more:
“The oak when it blooms,
A fox in the brush,
A knot in the wood,
The song of a thrush
The wood of the wind,
A cliff, a fall,
A scratch, a lump,
It is nothing at all
It’s the wind blowing free,
It’s the end of the slope,
It’s a beam, it’s a void,
It’s a hunch, it’s a hope
And the river bank talks
of the waters of March,
It’s the end of the strain,
The joy in your heart”
There is a nice piece and full English text:
Left Bank Press: Aguas de Marco
More on save a spider day:
“Aside from their hidden talents, spiders also offer humans benefits in some surprising ways. Their venom has been used in research for new medicines, their super strong webs (ounce per ounce stronger than steel) are helping designers dream up new industry technology and they’ve even inspired artworks and clothing products.” Smithsonian: Save A Spider Day
The Bug Girl: “March 14th marks the time we sit back each year and contemplate nature’s most important terrestrial predator, the venerable spider.
Spiders are quite helpful, but despite that fact these little eight legged creatures inspire fear in many. Save a Spider Day is the perfect time for parents and teachers to introduce children to these little wonders who consume countless crop-destroying, disease-carrying insects annually. You can turn them on to E.B. White’s classic, Charlotte’s Web, or brush up on your spider facts online.”
Bug Girl: Happy Save A Spider Day
Jobim always had something good to say about life. He’s the most prolific writer of happy and celebratory music I know; even when his song is about regret and loss there’s a positive, optimistic and redemptive tone to it.