It's a common trope,
the Danse Macabre that troops us
toward hushed tombs.
Blame its plague on Wolgemut
or Bruegel (Pieter the Elder),
and certainly Bergman
What with his iconic black-clad Death
and the parade of captive players taken
hand-in-hand on a joyless march.
But Life has her own fleet moments to lead,
and these flip-flop pageants though ragtag
are not the less enriching to behold
Or so I'm told in passing by
the delicate bluebell peaking its buds through
a monochrome rubble.
This poem was written for the POW Prompt #1 based on a photo collage, which you can see by clicking through the link, but after its evolution it bears only a tangential relationship to the inspiring image.
9 comments:
Ha, I see the cynicism.It is all very well for a safe little bluebell to see the best side of this rag tag affair. You have just reminded me of the rite of passage
of an aspiring intellectual.
In an attempt to appear interesting
I sat through all all those dreary Bergman films when I was 17 Interesting point of view here Francis. Good one.
Love the bit about the bluebell and the monochrome rubble!
Sobering thought, Francis, but so long as we can see the bluebell pushing through we might be redeemed.
Francis,
Nice take on the prompt. And the part about the bluebell peaking through monochrome rubble.Great work.
Pamela
Bergman could certainly be blamed too. :) Not sure why, but I have always found Ekeroth's personification of Death quite comical. Probably because we are not supposed to laugh during such solemn scenes. Cannot help myself, though.
Well-crafted and thought-inspiring, as usual.
loved the last stanza very much...
a great image!
and a wow for 'monochrome rubble'...
Powerful Bruegel reference, though I prefer the Kermess. :) Rallentanda, what on earth were you doing with Bergman at 17?! I think Bergman and marriage shouldn't be allowed until one reaches 30 - well, 27, anyway. Like youth itself they are wasted on the too young.
Francis, I like your flip-flop pageants which, "though ragtag are not the less enriching to behold."
@Rall Thanks for organizing the prompt. I waited on Bergman, and there's a little humor tucked in the dreariness, which I wouldn't have appreciated when younger.
@STG That image kind of jumped out at me while writing the poem, even though it was a bit of a non-sequitur.
@Derrick I completely agree.
@Pamela Thanks... I always need to find a splash of color to brighten my mood.
@Paul I was going for a bit of a play on "life's rich pageant" but I didn't want to make it too obvious.
@Jenny I think there is some intended humor in the movie, but it's hard not to find such a characterization of Death to be a little comical (despite the menacing looks). There have been a couple good spoofs of the film.
@hb Thanks! Rubble always seems monochrome to me.
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