I didn’t follow the prompt for this one. Instead I used material from our weekend trip to Edirne, Turkey. This is a found poem from a placard at the Bayezid Hospital Museum. This hospital was famous during the middle ages for its use of alternative therapies for curing the insane.
Crazy Spring Time
When lovers fall into the love sea
of Edirne during crazy spring time,
they are brought to this madhouse and chained
to their beds with silver and golden chains.
Here they lie roaring like lions.
Ah daha. Hel hope. Pe pohe. Peko.
Some grumble words while watching the pool
and the fountain. Others listen to birdsong
from the rose gardens, vineyards and melon fields
surrounding this arched dome and begin to scream
the tuneless voice of the mad.
Ah daha. Hel hope. Pe pohe. Peko.
Give jasmine, carnation, tulip and hyacinth
to the patients, and by their aromas
some shall be healed. The love mad, however,
will devour or trample the blossoms
while whispering nonsense to the fruit trees and grass.
Ah daha. Hel hope. Pe pohe. Peko.
adapted from Evliya Çelebi’s description of the hospital at Bayezid in 1652
Tags: NaPoWriMo · Poetry · Read Write Poem2 Comments
oh.
i adored this.
So poignant. You really capture another world here.