"Two wrongs may not make a right but a thousand wrongs make a writer.”

Monday, October 8, 2012

Magpie Tales....What We Knew in 1665


 

It’s not my pulse
that’s out of sync,
nor a case of the vapors
for one come and gone-
he goes and he comes
but that they don't know.
A bleeding is in order,
he says.
We’ll see.
I know how to brew
pennyroyal tea
and I’ll be just fine
when all of you leave.
I know how to bleed.




Photo prompt courtesy of Tess at the one and only Magpie Tales hitting it hard on Sunday, week after week.

23 comments:

izzy said...

Yes we know how to bleed!
and cry- and smile the secret smile she's got!

anthonynorth said...

Nice one. We do indeed.

Other Mary said...

Ah, we do know how to bleed. Sometimes stopping it is the tricky part. I also had a fleeting thought of the vapors. I like this very much Yvonne.

Berowne said...

Very well done, and a terrific ending.

Janine Bollée said...

Washing the bleeder out of my hair would be my preferred method :-)

Audrey Howitt aka Divalounger said...

Well done! And I agree--great ending!!

Helen said...

I am woman hear me roar ........

Irish Gumbo said...

Ah! That last line floored me. Well done!

G-Man said...

The Vapors eh?

The Long Lost Yvonne Osborne.....

Anonymous said...

Very well penned!

Unknown said...

You've done beautiful work with this prompt, Yvonne. I love the attitude and the Nirvanna connection to penroyal tea. Thank you for sharing this.

Laurie Kolp said...

Love your take on the photo prompt!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

That's so nicely tied together, and great last line.

Carrie Van Horn said...

So true to the times....love that last line Yvonne!

Yvonne Osborne said...

Thanks everyone. I always read and appreciate every indispensable comment, from Izzy's to Carrie's. Thank you all for reading me between the lines.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful re-working of the different approaches! k.

Doctor FTSE said...

Like many of the best poems, yours is an extended metaphor. Well done.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Dr. Ftse! I love it that you can define what I'm trying to do when I can't define it myself, that which I can't put a finger on. An extended metaphor. I take that as an weighty compliment! Thank you.

Manic K., Thank you very much.

Daydreamertoo said...

Oooo... You know it wasn't until I read this I remembered how they did used to 'bleed' people back then too. How awful. This is very sharp with its imagery, a really gripping read. Enjoyed it very much :)

kaykuala said...

The ending is great. Sick she may be it shows that the confidence is intact. Nicely Yvonne!

Hank

Yvonne Osborne said...

Daydreamer,
I know,isn't it though? Midwives were the best bet back then. Much better than the so-called "doctors" for the most part. Can that be true today?

Hank,
Thank you very much!

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Clever Mag!

Anna :o]

Yvonne Osborne said...

Thanks Anna