Winter: Three-Fold

A look at what winter has been like for me this year in three short poems written in three different languages.

Winter:

This past winter has been insane
It’s practically inhumane!
Hot, cold, cold, hot
Some days I couldn’t feel my hands
Other days I could bury them in the sand
And still other days they were covered by gloves – gloves!

I have seen snow, ice and frost
And even -9 as a low but it was worth the cost
Now, in paradise it has been warm
The hot days have come in a swarm
But we will soon experience “cold”
Or that is what I am told
Sometimes I do not understand these Southern creatures
The cold here does not have all of the familiar features
When you experience a chill that seeps into your bones,
You talk about it in hushed tones
All the while never forgetting your true home.

Invierno:

Este invierno has sido loco
Y no en la forma de poco
Calor, frío, frío, calor
Algunos días no me sentían las manos
Otros días me las puse en arena, por metros
Y todavía otros días, me llevaban guantes – guantes!

He visto nieve, hielo y escaraha
Y aun -9 como mínimo pero valió la pena
Ahora mismo en el paraíso, ha hecho calor
Los días calurosos vinieron rápido y sin dolor
Pero pronto experimentaremos “frió”
O es lo que me han dicho
Algunas veces no entiendo estos criaturas del Sur
El frío aquí no es el frío familiar
Cuando se experimenta un fresco escurriendose en los huesos
Se pare mandar los besos
Todo el tiempo nunca olvidándose su casa verdadera

Inverno:

Este inverno foi loco
E não em a forma de pouco
Calor, frio, frio, calor
Alguns dias no las manos
Outros dias me as ponho em arena, por metros
E todavia outros dias, me levam as luvas – luvas!

Vi neve, gelo e geada
E ainda -9 como mínimo mais valeu a pena
Agora mesmo em o paraíso, faz muito calor
Os dias calorosos rápido e sem dor
Mais pronto experimentaremos “frio”
Ou é lo que me dizerem
Algumas vezes não entendo estes criaturas do Sul (sur)
O frio aqui não é o frio familiar
Quando experimenta-se um fresco escorrendo seus ossos
Pare-se mandar os beijos
Tudo o tempo nunca esquecendo-se a sua casa verdadeira

If you made it to the end of this post, I congratulate you! If you didn’t know what half of the words in the last two poems meant, well, you don’t have to admit that. 😉

This was a poem that I came up with by myself to describe the many climate changes I’ve experienced over the last 6-7 weeks. The beginning of the poem starts off by talking about how the weather can not make up its mind this year. I started the year off with snow and negative (read: extreme negative temperatures) in Ohio and yet here I am in Florida wearing shorts as I type this. The temperatures have been up and down here multiple times so this state is just as confused as all of the Northern and Midwestern states who have had one rough winter! While I’m thankful to spend one last winter here as a snowbird, I do wish that the weather would just make up its mind and find a happy medium for us all. Well, it doesn’t matter too much now because flowers are blooming, birds are singing their songs in the morning once again and I don’t have the heat on in my house here. In other words, spring is coming! Even if we will have one last “cold” snap here, I am looking to the promise of spring.

Also, the above poem in Portuguese is the most I have ever written in the language thus far! I am usually practicing one lesson a day with Duolingo and only writing pre-assigned sentences on the app. However, tonight I took the reigns myself tonight. I knew my mind was starting to incorporate the language into my daily life one Sunday a couple weeks ago when I was taking notes in church. I was listening to the pastor speak in English while reading a Bible verse on my phone in Spanish and somehow the note I made about the verse came out in Portuguese! 😀 Looking back on the experience, if this had happened to me a few years ago, I might have gotten angry or frustrated with myself. Now? Well, I just chuckled and took it as a good sign. I’m not just listening to the language and forgetting what I hear – it’s taking root! The more I hear words and sounds pronounced correctly over and over again, the more likely I am to not only repeat them but to remember them as well!

This is just the start of my journey with written Portuguese. I plan to spend the next few weeks focusing on practicing my written Spanish but who’s to say I can’t take a break and play with another language from time to time?

Beijos. 🙂