82 thoughts on “The Seer Sees the Ancient Story: Quadrille”

1. Well, Merril….if you were here in my living room, you’d have heard an audible sigh and the words “Oh wow” uttered when I finished reading this. The pacing, the repetition, the use in both instances of meaning of “wound”…The juxtaposition of the white cloth now red with blood….
   A powerful write indeed.

   • And an “oh wow” here for that comment, Lillian! Thank you so much. 💙 Those first two lines came to me right away last night.

2. This is exactly what Lillian writes, so very powerful, and I do love how you used both the tension in wound and the wound afterward.

   • Thank you so much, Björn!

3. The word legendary comes to mind as I read this- this is stellar writing, Merril! 💝💝

   • Thank you so much, Sanaa!❤️

4. Well done Merril. Hero lying near death does create a deep wound in the soul!

   • Thank you so much, Dwight. Yes, I imagine so.

5. Superbly evoked poetry

   • Thank you so much!

     • You’re welcome

6. You deserve more than seven rounds of applause for this, Merril.

   ❤
   David

   • That is very kind. Thank you so much, David!💙

7. Nice one!! Luv the cadence of the chant.
   Interesting image.
   Happy Monday

   Much💚love

   • Thanks so much, Gillena! 💙

8. The legacy of war. The dreadful legacy of war. Well written.

   • Thank you so much, Beverly.

9. I really like the repetition of seven, it gives a feel of the mythical or ritual. Nice work.

   • That was my thought as well.

     • Thank you!

     • You’re welcome!

10. I really like the repetition of seven, it gives a feel of the mythical or ritual. Nice work.

    • Thank you very much.

11. I love this ……….. I write more often than I realize about the horror of war. Living through Vietnam and a husband there for one year left an indelible (red) stain.

    • Thank you so much, Helen. I’m sure that must have been an indelible experience for both of you.
      I didn’t know anyone in my family who had been in combat until my son-in-law, who was deployed three time in Iraq and Afghanistan (before he knew my daughter). No physical wounds, but definite mental/emotional ones.

12. Oh, I love the triple 7’s and the artwork that accompanies this quadrille. The spell cast and the consequences rippling out from your verse. Wonderful.

    • Thank you so much! 💙

13. I love reading this out aloud – so well done with the pacing, definition and theme. I agree, this was like casting a spell.

    • Thank you very much, Grace. That’s how I felt while writing it.

14. Great work indeed, MS. We’re on the same page, I think.

    • Thank you very much, Ron.!

15. Merril there is the feel of incantation where ancient wisdom speaks. The artwork is just as arresting.

    • Thank you very much, Lisa!
      I love Odilon Redon, but I never used this image before.

      • You’re welcome.

16. This is not just a great quadrille — this is a great poem in general. The rhyme and rhythm are perfect, as is the wordplay in the first few lines.

    • Thank you so much for your very kind words!

17. I’m with Lillian… oh Wow!!

    • Thank you very much!

      • 🧡

18. Wow!

    • Thank you! 😀

19. Great writing in this piece.

    • Thank you so much!

20. Oh my gosh this is beautiful. I find myself reading it over and over and I love the way the words form as I say it ☺️

    • Thank you so much! That is such a lovely comment! 💙

21. I love the repetitions and rhymes in such a small space.

    • Thank you very much, Luanne!

22. So very powerful – weaving meanings and rhymes.

    • Thank you so much, Derrick!

23. I read your quadrille aloud, like a spell, seven times, and it filled my mouth with sounds and rolled off my tongue! I love the rhythm, like an army drum, the use of compound words, the contrast of ‘white-stitched’ and ‘blood-red’, and the image of a war hero, bandaged and dying is tragic and powerful.

    • Wow–Kim! Thank you. I appreciate that so much!

24. Excellent use of the prompt, Merril! This has the feel of a mythological incantation: Homeric 🙂

    • Thank you very much, Ingrid! 💙

25. You know I love this one. Exactly in phase with my thoughts too. Isn’t that a sweet-looking Cyclops though? Redon couldn’t even make his monsters look fierce.

    • Thank you! 😀
      He is kind of a sweet monster. 💙

      • Very 🙂

26. Oh wow! This is powerful and brilliantly done. The pacing, the mood, the nod to mythology is all excellence.

27. So atmospheric – brought to my mind a witches’ chant (Macbeth?). Brilliant.

    • Thank you so much! I thought of the witches in Macbeth, too.

28. A nice one.

    Pat

    • Thank you, Pat.

29. Nemo – No One – cursed Odysseus. What a bothersome fellow, he. Quite delightfully done, thank you.

    • Yes, a very bothersome fellow.
      Thank you very much.

30. I concur with the comments of your other readers. A brilliant poem that sent shivers down my shine and made my breath catch in my throat.

    • Wow–I so appreciate that, Liz. Thank you!

      • You’re welcome, Merril!

31. The score is never even, it just goes up and up. The mythical chant is very effective. (K)

    • Thank you very much!

32. Wonderful! I love it! Thank you for sharing 🙂

    • Thank you so much! 😀

33. Lillian pretty much summed your poem up for me 🙂 Your poem so well fits the image and yet the image to me is so abstract that I’m just stunned by your poem.

    • Wow–thank you very much, Marie! 💙

34. An intense poem, full of wounds, bright with blood and vengeance. Wowie.

    • Thank you so very much!

35. So much packed in this. I love that the number 7 is symbolic for completion and how it increases the tension in its repetition and the expectation of imminent closure – a closure the reader is longing to abate with his very breath. Beautifully done.

    • Thank you so much! I appreciate your kind words!

36. So great and beautiful!

    • Thank you!

37. WOW!
    Merril,
    You worked the theme, beautifully! A most enjoyable read. I read it 3 times for fun.

    • Wow! Thank you so much, Resa! 💙

      • 😀 x

      • 😀

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