April showers bring May flowers. Just as January brings us cold, February brings us snow, and March provides us wind, April is known as the rainy month. We have heard this since childhood, but where does this saying originate?
According to The Academy of American Poets, it is first mentioned in 1557 by English poet and farmer Thomas Tusser (1524-1580) in A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry. The verse reads as follows: “Sweet April showers Do spring May flowers.” Later, it is referenced in the first stanza of a poem by German poet Mathilde Blind (1841-1896) titled April Rain:
The April rain, the April rain,
Comes slanting down in fitful showers,
Then from the furrow shoots the grain,
And banks are fledged with nestling flowers;
And in grey shaw and woodland bowers
The cuckoo through the April rain
Calls once again.
The April sun, the April sun,
Glints through the rain in fitful splendour,
And in grey shaw and woodland dun
The little leaves spring forth and tender
Their infant hands, yet weak and slender,
For warmth towards the April sun,
One after one.
And between shower and shine hath birth
The rainbow’s evanescent glory;
Heaven’s light that breaks on mists of earth!
Frail symbol of our human story,
It flowers through showers where, looming hoary,
The rain-clouds flash with April mirth,
Like Life on earth.
April is the start of spring and nature’s rebirth. It is an opportunity to free us from the burden of winter. We can shed our heavy coats and feel the warmth of the sun on our face and hands once more. The rain brings us beauty and joy. How can you not smile and feel good at the sight of a tulip, a cherry blossom, a baby bunny, or a robin?
Spring is here. It is a not-so-subtle signal from Mother Nature that life is getting better. While we all look upon the same sun and moon, we all see things differently. We experience life differently. It is what makes us special. But in spring, we all have a chance to start over, together.
Let the April showers wash away the previous year. It is time to look forward.
Bernard A. Oravec
Publisher
boravec@barashmedia.com
