The Devil’s Among Us

‘But soon the devil’s among us flesh and fell’, taken from ‘The Ballad Of Villon And Fat Madge’ by François Villon

Let us arise from our drunken pit
and savour every element of spring:
the burst of every flowering bud;
the first silvery notes of mating birds;
the drowsy hum of the first bumblebee –
before the devil’s among us
in the frantic dew of flesh and blood.

Kim M. Russell, 2018

Image result for hieronymus bosch garden of earthly delights Pinterest
Detail from ‘The Garden of Earthy Delights’ by Hieornymus Bosch; image found on Pinterest

 

My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads April 15; Serendipity and a poet, also linked to Poets United Poetry Pantry

Gillena tells us that she recently came across an interesting poem of the day at Poemhunter: ‘The Ballad of the Proverbs’ by François Villon, so she clicked into more of his poems and found information about the poet, which she has shared with us. Our challenge is to read three poems by Villon; choose one that we like; distil a quote from it; construct a new poem, using any form our our choice and based on our understanding or appreciation of the quote, making sure we stay within the limit of 100 words. We must preface our newly written poems with the quote and name of the poet, including a link to the chosen Viillon poem. Now that’s some challenge!

49 thoughts on “The Devil’s Among Us”

  1. I think this is my favourite of your poems this month, so far. What you say and how you say it ties in perfectly with the quote and Bosch detail, such an excellent portrayal of spring.

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    1. Thank Jae. Did you read the original? It was hard to find a good quote in the other poems. This one was hard to read but easy to find a quote. 🙂

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  5. I was intrigued from the very first line, with the nod to debaucheries of the past, and went along for the ride. I really love the immediacy of this. There’s almost a frenzy to hold on to that purer state, even if it is only for a time.

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  16. This felt like a cry for courage for those among us (like me) who are feeling the weight of the devils. Yes let us relish Spring. Lovely response to the prompt. Maybe I’ll try it.

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  20. kaykuala

    Let us arise from our drunken pit
    and savour every element of spring

    Spring must be appreciated for all of its greenery and colors. Very much so, Kim!

    Hank

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