Black death blood and guts
Fleas on rats as big as cats
Summer death follows.
Alison Jean Hankinson
This is for d’Verse poetics we were asked to write a poem that was related to a sign or symbol and this came from my Year 7 teaching today, where the red cross on the door of a house meant the occupants had the plague and the cries on the street were “Bring out yer dead”.
The image is from Wikimedia.
The file from Wellcome images-
A rat stowing away on a ship, carrying the plague further afield. Drawing by A.L. Tarter, 194-.
Iconographic Collections
Keywords: Albert Lloyd Tarter
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Ouch.. that would be a sign I would fear… knowing what we know today.
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I didn’t know the red cross had that origin. I liked the second line of the haiku about the size of those fleas.
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I too didn’t know the origin of the red cross sign. Your poem is so powerful!
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I wouldn’t want to live in those times of plaque ~ Good one Alison ~
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Powerful history lesson on the bubonic plague!
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A sobering offering indeed!
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A haunting reality of those times. Excellent image choice as well.
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Wow! Three lines excavating hidden history! That was gripping indeed! It reminds one of the nursery rhyme Ring a ring O’Roses dating back to the Great Plague.
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This packed a punch! Love just the one rhyming line in the middle there. It’s like a kid’s or YA noir poem.
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This was creepy, but then I suppose it was intended to be.
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Those were tough times to live in — had no idea about this sign. But makes sense in those days that plague houses would be “marked.” Good take on the prompt!
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