Miasma



Sick Woman, 1665, by Jan Steen

I gave true my faith to medicine,

did not wrap her up in sweet bouquet;

this mix to be the save of us

could not *miasma keep at bay.

Aquavitae, triacle, urine of virgin boy,

we drank of this across three morns,

drunk his receipt against this plague,

yet it stays with her upon this dawn.

She fevers so yet shivers yet,

cries with despair at paining head,

buboes puff pain at armpit, neck,

under skin bleed tokens,  black, purple, red

He feels at her pulse for well o’er an hour,

her plight fills me with awful dread;

he looks at me with sore forlorn

and I await the cry ‘Bring out your dead’

Anna :o]

The above is ‘work in progress’ and was inspired by Tess’ prompt at The Mag.

1665 was the year of The Great Plague, (also known as The Black Death or Bubonic Plague) which although affecting much of England affected London the most.  London was a filthy city (especially the slum districts) where household and human waste was flung into the street – an ideal breeding ground for black rat and its little jumping chums who infected their rat and human hosts with Yersinia Pestis.

The Bubonic plague presents with general symptoms of fever, vomiting and malaise, this followed by lymph gland enlargement (buboes) and the endotoxin of bacteria leading to bleeding manifestations which ultimately may lead to shock.

The above sounds pretty tame and for a better description read an eyewitness account by William Boghurst (an apothecarist and general practitioner) “Loimographia: an account of the great plague of London in the year 1665.  London" and for wonderful preventative and (supposedly) curative measures please read “A collection of seven and fifty approved receipts good against the plague : taken out of the five books of that renowned Dr. Don Alexes Secrets, for the benefit of the poorer sort of people of these nations. London”

Both excellent insights into life in 1665 (and I am so glad I wasn’t alive then!).

The Great Fire of London finally brought to an end the ravages of the plague and life returned to its odd sort of normality…

…and if I wasn’t so damned tired (finished five nightshifts this am) I would write more but now need shut-eye and much zzzzzzzz, but would invite you to google and read more for looking back in history is fascinating stuff.

*Miasma: a theory that disease was linked to a noxious form of ‘bad air’ – hadn’t made the rat connection then...

This post also linked to the good folk at dVerse~Poets Pub.