Yellow Fever, 1878

it rained that year,
torrential rain, that fell,
collecting in stagnant puddles,
in open sewers,
in our Memphis streets,
and when it stopped,
our air swam thick with
mosquitoes, indiscriminating
in their thirst for blood.

five years before,
Death stalked our town
taking over two thousand—
men, women, children,
babes in arms. at first
its symptoms matched a flu
aches and pains and fevers
passing quickly,
but for too many, Death returned,
yellowing skin,
and spewing vomit, black with blood.

this August, when Death returned,
his eyes glowing yellow and fevered,
Memphis vanished,
her people fled.
more than half left
leaving doors unlocked
and dinner ready at each table.

and Death touched us,
the few who remained.
we screamed and ran our pain
through empty streets
as our bodies failed.
seventeen thousand ill.

houses burned against contagion
church bells tolled a constant funeral,
while survivors drove carts
to collect bodies like cords of wood
and shout, bring out your dead.

we fell, doctors and shopkeepers,
nuns and prostitutes,
policemen and lawyers,
men with long white beards
and school children who
should have known more life—
two hundred a day
until frost came
and Death left what used to be a town.
Memphis was dead,
no mayor,
no police,
no children playing
in the frozen remnants
of mosquito swamps.
more than five thousand buried.

we still walk Elmwood,
through No Man’s Land,
where they lie—
without names or headstones,
our souls bleeding
for our dead.

line count: 60

Author's note: In 1878, a yellow fever epidemic hit from Memphis to New Orleans, leaving more than 20,000 dead all over Mississippi river valley. In Memphis, our first native died August 13, 1878. By September, Memphis was bankrupt, and no longer was incorporated as a town. More than 25,000 left, another 5,000 dead.

Prompt for: Jan 6, 2016 ▼

Subject or Theme: Something, anything, that might have happened in your area during the 1800s. (any month of the year is okay.) A place you might have gone, like the General Store, or a journey by stagecoach or covered wagon, perhaps. Maybe there was a battle specific to where you live or a discovery made. Or a simple day to day thing that might have occurred.

Word(s) to Include: beard, soul, match (or any derivatives of these words)
Forbidden Word(s): the (or any derivatives, compound or hyphenations of these words)
Additional Parameters: Let us know where you are, ie; state or province, nearby city...(for example)
At least 24 lines or a form that is 24 lines or more. Rhyming or not. Please include a link if you use a form.
Remember, do not use forbidden words ANYWHERE, including title or the brief description.