MAY DAY MAY DAY M’AIDEZ
It’s the May day holiday
Time for play and get away
Blue sky pollen high
Swallows twitter as they fly
Time to sit in warming sun
Summer rituals begun
Birds are everywhere in song
From morning light to evening’s long
May Day May Day
Hear the calls from far away
Desperate cries from refugees
Sinking, drowning on the seas
Stranded on some foreign beach
A search for safety they can’t reach
How many lives are swept away
We do not know we cannot say
And May Day multiplied by three
Is where our world appears to be
In state of grave emergency
Above, below and out at sea
A threat to all lives on this earth
We must realize the healing worth
Of offered aid before a fall
I can but hope we heed that call
It would be ironic, if it wasn’t so tragic, that the word Mayday conjures up scenes of white blossom carpeting the greening branches of Spring growth; a public holiday; happy children celebrating and playing in the sun; and sometimes, dancing round a beribboned Maypole. While the distress call of May day, repeated three times, means somewhere on the high seas, or crashing against a rocky shore, there are human beings in grave danger of losing their lives.
So, where and when did this connection begin. Seeking enlightenment from my favourite source (wikipedia) I discover that it was conceived in the 1920s by an Officer in charge of radio communication at Croyden Airport. He was asked to come up with a call, suitable for telephone communication, to replace Morse code. Since most of the air traffic then was between Croyden and Bourget Airport in Paris, he chose ‘M’Aidez’ (help me), the phonetic equivalent of Mayday, to be repeated three times, for confirmation of an emergency situation. Not for the first time I marvel at the adaptability of the English language.
And I’d like to think that adaptability, human ingenuity, and the increasing realization of the worldwide danger to human existence; coupled with the wave of ‘blue sky’ thinking and inventions coming down the line, will allow us to take advantage of that ever narrowing window of opportunity to save our planet. I refuse to be downhearted!
I like the juxtaposition of May Day , m’ aidez, one of your best yet
Yes, a very clever play on words; an excellent poem.
I agree. Clever combination of words/ ideas. So pertinent to us here in the South East.
Person A: What’s your job?
Person B: I clean rooms in a hotel
Person A: Maid, eh?
Sorry, bad gag. 🙂
Love the “m’aidez” fact. I’d never understood why May Day was a distress call – it all becomes clear! Excellent poem too, very thought provoking. Of course, as long as we stop the small boats, all will be fine… *exasperated sigh*