The Winter Nosegay Lyrics
The winds blow and the fields are white with snow, so the speaker asks whether a posy can be found. There is not a blade of grass, but holly with berries, lauristinus, a sprig of ivy, a sloe and a rose hip are all still there, the few things that dare to stay through the cutting winter's day.
The Winter Nosegay
Fiercely through the chilly air;
Now the fields are white with snow,
Can we find a posy there?
No, there cannot, all around,
A single blade of grass be found.
Nothing but the holly bright,
Spotted with its berries gay;
Lauristinus, red and white;
Or the ivy's crooked spray;
With a sloe of darksome blue,
Where the ragged blackthorn grew.
Or the hip of shining red,
Where the wild rose used to grow,
Peeping out its scarlet head,
From beneath a cap of snow;
These are all that dare to stay
Through the cutting winter's day.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/the-winter-nosegay/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Tune
- Slower and cooler than the summer poem, with a small smile on the last line
- Best for ages
- 4 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Now the winds of winter blow | Wave both arms from side to side and blow softly. |
| Nothing but the holly bright, | Spread your fingers like spiky leaves and hold them up. |
What Does The Winter Nosegay Mean?
The winter poem begins with the same question as the others and gets a different answer. It asks can we find a posy there? and answers no, there cannot: not even a single blade of grass. What is left is a short list of things that last through cold weather. Holly has bright berries, lauristinus is a shrub that flowers in winter, and ivy is the plant with the crooked spray.
A sloe is a small, dark blue fruit of the blackthorn, and a hip is the red fruit left on a wild rose after the flower falls. The hip peeps out from beneath a cap of snow. The last two lines say these are all that dare to stay, which makes the plants sound brave. The verse is honest about winter and still finds colour in it: red, white, blue and green.
History and Origin
Spring, summer and autumn each give a long list of flowers in their nosegay verses, and winter gives only a short one.
Learning Activities
- Winter finds: on a cold day look for holly, ivy, berries or seed heads and compare them with the poem.
- Season swap: read the winter poem after the spring poem and count how many flowers each one names.
- Red, white, blue, green: draw the winter posy with those four colours.
- Bird food: remind the child that berries are food for birds in winter, so leave them on the bush.