
Bruegel Narrates Hunters in the Snow
Down by the stony road
where the trees grow
snowy twigs, and the frozen
creek babbles in its baffling
string-like voice, and tiny
flickering candles defy
the winter gloom from thatched
roof houses, and the north wind
scrapes an alto low moan from God’s
own rudder-spiked mountains
that spill chills on the good brothers
of the monastery, where
only music, and no words, sing
human duets in this
unhurried landscape.
And then he leans back on his stool,
adds a dab more white snow,
and signs his painting.
for dVerse Double Quadrille (88 words sans title) include the word “dab” plus @bruegelbot link-back, @Experimentsinfc #APoemADay on Twitter. © Misky 2021. The Hunters in the Snow, also known as The Return of the Hunters, (the image is clickable to view the full excerpt) is a 1565 oil-on-wood painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Full image at Wikipedia.
35 responses to “Double Quadrille (88 Words) for dVerse Poets”
Beautiful, Misky.
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Lovely!
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I like the feeling how the painter really entered the canvas and dabbed himself a story in paint.
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Thank you!
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I absolutely love this painting and how you’ve narrated it. Your use of enjambment in the second-to-last stanza is just wonderful: ‘and no words, sing’ recalls Keats ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ – a favourite of mine!
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I’m glad you enjoyed reading it.
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Oh, I love this–the narration by the artist is wonderful. Like Ingrid, I also like the enjambment.
(I didn’t know a double quadrille was an option, but you definitely needed to complete the story.)
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I probably isn’t an option, but it’s a prompt.
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Lovely! And you saved the word for the end. I’d never thought of this painting in connection with a monastery before but now you mention it, I can hear plainchant across the snow.
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Thank you, Jane. 🥰
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🙂
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This is masterfully done, Misky! I especially love; “the north wind scrapes an alto low moan from God’s own rudder-spiked mountains.” 🙂
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Thank you very much. ❤️
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You’re most welcome 🙂
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Laughing here, I was doodling along with the pleasant enough description – though ‘an alto low moan’ is pretty fabulous – and then wham – I’m sitting next to the artist, and I’ve been wandering through a hand-made landscape (much like this poem) – and I’m intrigued and delighted.
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Fab! I love his paintings. There’s so much happening in them. I’d love to write a whole collection based on a few of his paintings.
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Now that’s a wonderful idea!
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I wish I’d written this.
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I applaud your audacity with this excellent poem. I think you’re the first of us to ever double a quadrille. Your word-smithing is excellent, and your point of view is creative. We could use more prompts from paintings.
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Thanks, Glenn. Appreciate your comments.
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Double the pleasure. I didn’t know 88 was allowed, but I loved your “take”.
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Very enjoyable!
-David
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Thank you, David.
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Oooh! I love this!
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Thanks. 😀
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I’m loving all the ekphrases for this prompt! Were people dabbling in a bit of a conspiracy to add that to the brief?
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Not to my knowledge, Xan. 😁
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Thanks for taking me on that painting journey. A canvas well painted
Happy Monday
Much💝love
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This was beautifully done! Loved the perspective.
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Breathtaking words to match the majestic image. I do feel the divine in both ✨
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Beautiful and evocative, thanks for sharing (^_^)
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A stunning ekphrastic double quadrille, Marilyn! I admire the way you’ve entered the canvas via the stony road and explored it with all the senses. I love that Bruegel image and felt like I was there with him, walking the path, breathing the wintry air, listening to the creek babbling, and passing the houses with their ‘tiny flickering candles’. But oh, the spectacular picot on the north wind, that blows from the ‘rudder-spiked mountains’! Great ending, that brings me back to ‘reality’!
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Thanks, Kim. ❤️
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Oh you’ve painted the scene so well with the words….and then the twist at the end as the painter dabs a bit more white snow and the scene is complete simultaneously with his brush stroke and your words. Brilliant!
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Thanks, Lillian! 😀
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