The Fever spikes, a child shifts and moans
as moaning can release the demon heat;
though hot, responsive to her mother's tone-
a tone that reassures her she'll defeat-
Defeat this evil illness and revive-
Revive, recuperate, and strong, survive!
Survive where in the past an illness spelled
the spell of death for many that it touched.
The touch of modern medicine expells
with expert speed the fever, pain and much
much more than we in modern times can know
in knowing not the past and all its loss
when loss of life and illness brought us low-
much lower now that Fever knows who's boss.
Author notes
The "wreath" takes something from the end of each line and weaves it into the beginning of the next; it can be a variation or a homophone of the word used. There are no other requirements: http://allpoetry.com/column/2346469
In a list
A contest entry
- garlands by pine-needles.
750 points, ended August 4, 11 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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wow, this poem takes us on a wild roller coaster ride of emotions, from the personal intense moment of the illness to the suffering of the past (and present, as Gagiikwe aptly points out)and the innovations we so often take so much for granted. love the form, how it all is so tightly tied together even as you cover so much territory. it also gives it an intense, urgent, feverish energy that seems very fitting for the poem. thank you so much for entering, I am honored to have this poem in my contest!
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Clever
I agree with Williamstown and find the poem clever, the pattern of one word following another throughout the poem.
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Excellent rhyme and metre as one has grown to expect from this poet
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Struck a chord of memory
Nothing makes us feel more helpless than when our children are ill; and desperate if they are dying. Our second child, born in a third-world country, born with jaundice, barely survived in the "hospital"; with no doctor willing to attend, the nurses leaving my wife to care for all the other women on the wards each night; and the pharmaceutical companies dumping substandard [or worse] medications on impoverished nations. How much we take for granted in the West; how fragile our cocoon.
How sobering to walk through any older cemetary and see the number of 19th century children buried there. Measles, mumps, dyptheria, chickenpox, whooping cough, TB, Yellow fever, malaria, malnutrition, etc.; such a long list.
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This turned out to be Scarlet Fever, which I was very surprised to learn most frequently strikes 4-8 year-olds, but she is over it and just dealing with the after effects of the rash (some itchiness, sores.) It did used to be a very scary, deadly disease before the days of antibiotics. People just take those for granted now; it's really a revelation when you live through something like this with a child.
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