detailed narratives-
peopled
en peinture
The elder Pieter Brueghel
with art tales to tell
Smell wa one of his temrs
with flowers red yelow& green
Premiered at The Panic Room, Shreveport, LA – 11/25/2006
ACT 1
Bed of Nails
Typically Brueghel
Got To Be Blue, Boy
State of the Onion
My Cynical Career
Damage Control
ACT 2
The Same Damn Thing
Elfreth’s Alley
The Death of Rock and Roll
Bwana Wanna Boogie
Supermarket Tabloid Blues
Poison Pen
ACT 3
Carnivore
Commentary
Refugee Rain
A Typical Day in Hell
I Don’t Want To Go to Heaven
The hunters and their dogs are going home,
Their secret sworn to silence,
footprints crunching through the snow;
Agreed the parish priest should never know.
They walk beneath a sky of sickly hue,
A tale not fit for telling
and an angry sullen mood
Anticipate the taste of sordid food.
Tonight they’ll fill their stewpot to the brim.
Some meals may ease one’s hunger,
others eat you from within,
With nothing gained confessing to the sin.
The hunters and their dogs are going home.
Wedding Kermesse
Common folk with few wants
(Toilers reaping earth’s bounty)
Enjoy life’s pleasantries
By escaping the harsh realities
Of day-to-day existence,
Expressed in a kermesse dance
To the tune of simple instruments.
With joy in their hearts
And freedom unfettered,
They fling each other
Around in circles,
Indulging in feasting,
Drinking, and singing
In the celebratory ritual
Of carefree merriment
(Partakers as witnesses)
Toasting the wedding couple.
With the ground as their stage
And exposed to the elements,
The day wears thin,
But not their jubilance.
***
Note:
“Wedding Kermesse” is an ekphrastic poem based on the painting "Peasant Wedding Dance" (1607) by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564–1638).
The “Kermesse” was any special village or town celebration originating in Europe during the late medieval period (1250–1500 AD) and was introduced to America by Dutch and Flemish immigrants.
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.