It's Still Life

poetry and prose

dVerse Quadrille #119

Pieter Bruegel’s Hunters in the Snow

The Dogs of Hunters In The Snow

Dogs lead the way
     in this
     cold otherworld.
Stray to scents, and
footprints in snow.
Paws dancing
     dense and cold to
     frost clear tunes.
Iced twigs.
Clings to limbs.
Same sameness laying
     a tapestry of white.

There’s no sensible heat
in this featureless light.

dVerse Quadrille #119 “way”. Image excerpt from Pieter Bruegel’s Hunters in the Snow, and shared with @Experimentsinfc #APoemADay on Twitter   © Misky 2021

Misky

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47 responses to “dVerse Quadrille #119”

  1. A vividly ekphrastic quadrille – even without the image in front of me, Marilyn. I can feel the chill of the snow and smell the dogs! I love those paws dancing / dense and cold to / frost clear tunes’ and the ‘tapestry of white’.

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  2. Lovely piece – ‘same sameness’ is a standout line. I continue to marvel and Bruegel’s skills – each of these pooches with their own personalities – including the doleful hound looking directly at us across the snows of time. Marvellous.

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    • I’m glad you mentioned the first “same” because it nearly got the chop for being borderline useless. But it snowed here yesterday, and a walk proved that there is a same sameness when it’s white on white and snow-filled potholes are still potholes to catch the tip of your boot. I was drawn to the anxious pup behind the doleful one – with the arched back, and tail tucked under its bum in fear. I adore Bruegel. Thanks for reading this one, Peter.

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  3. A hound’s nose must get desensitized in ice and snow. You packed a lot into 44 words; made by think of sled dogs who thrive on winter.

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  4. The grey of winter can be so unwelcoming and does get old, so your description of “same sameness” is perfect. I feel sorry for those hunting dogs, especially in the cold. Not sure that they chose their profession.

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  14. I like this very much. Snow is inert until it’s filled with tracks. Dogs scent what we can’t; even with the tracks men take dogs to do the hunting for them. I felt the chill and the silence in this one.

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  21. There are no snow seasons where i live. But your poem rings vivid and full of life, movie style for me

    Have a good week

    Much💖love

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  22. Brrrr…you took me into the winterland! Only for a moment since we are in the 80’s here! I can see and hear the dogs…such great word pictures. And a wonderful job with the picture you paired with the poem.

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