Medieval depiction of hell.A Poem on Hot Flashes: ‘The Devil and the Hounds of Hell’ by Norma Pain The Society December 9, 2021 Culture, Humor, Poetry 12 Comments . The Devil and the Hounds of Hell Over and over in the gloom of night, In degrees of Celsius or Fahrenheit. From deep in the middle of a hard-won sleep, An evil entity begins to creep. A dark, diabolical serpentine, Slithers and simmers along my spine. Travelling slowly up the backbone lane, Its burning fingers invade my brain And breathing fire, it consumes my soul, Infusing my body till I lose control. There is no escaping this nightly thief, The power of its fury is beyond belief, As I fling those covers with a mighty kick, And rend my garments like a lunatic, Till I’m almost certain I’ll go insane, That the frantic sizzling will fry my brain… Then hallelujah! It’s over and done. Another brave battle has been fought and won, But darn it all, if it ain’t quite silly Now I grab those covers cause I’m feeling chilly! Chorus: Wake up! Wake up! It’s time to get hot, Another flash whether I like it or not. He brings cheap power for his clientele, All the way from Hades on the Hounds of Hell! . . Norma Pain was born in Liverpool, England and now lives in Parksville, British Columbia, Canada. Thirty of Norma’s poems were published by Dana Literary Society, between 2004 and 2007 and she was twice nominated for the Pushcart Prize by that same on-line poetry site. She self-published a book of rhyme in 2000 called Bulging Assets. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. 12 Responses Joseph S. Salemi December 9, 2021 It sounds like you have a devil of a time with those hot flashes! Reply Norma Pain December 10, 2021 Thank you for commenting Joseph. Very occasionally they come in handy but mostly I say, ‘to the Devil with them’! Reply Julian D. Woodruff December 9, 2021 Maybe “It’s too darn hot” was a song Cole Porter’s mother taught him. Reply Norma Pain December 10, 2021 It certainly could be true. Thank you Julian. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant December 9, 2021 Huge fun, Norma! I hate to admit, I can relate to the sentiment of this poem and the images you have chosen to convey these fevered nights of hellish heat are spot on… to think, I used to welcome such nights in my youth. 😉 Thank you for the giggle. Reply Norma Pain December 10, 2021 Thank you for your comments Susan. It is not a subject that is widely popular or enjoyed! Evan’s depiction says it all for me…. oh dear… am I there already!! Reply C.B. Anderson December 10, 2021 I almost feel your pain, Norma. Reply Norma Pain December 10, 2021 Thank you C.B. If only sympathy were a cure I would be forever indebted to you. Reply Paul Freeman December 10, 2021 To freeze out those hot flashes, may I advise to you, keep on hand a fire extinguisher, preferably, CO2. Thanks for the read, Norma. Reply Norma Pain December 10, 2021 Thank you for the suggestion Paul but I think I’ll stick with my ceiling fan and ice packs! I have heard of people dying of spontaneous combustion but so far, I’m still here. Reply Mia December 14, 2021 If I did not know from the title that this poem is about hot flushes, I would say that it fits perfectly with how I feel when I go to bed after watching the news the past eighteen months. Yes definitely Hades and the Hounds of Hell! Just wanted to say that your excellent poem can be interpreted in another way. But isn’t that the beauty of some poems? Thank you for such a great poetic description. Reply Norma Pain December 14, 2021 Thank you so much Mia for taking the time to comment on my ‘hot flash’ poem. I agree that the Devil and the Hounds of Hell are alive and well and continuing to fry many people’s brains to the point that they cannot see what is happening. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Joseph S. Salemi December 9, 2021 It sounds like you have a devil of a time with those hot flashes! Reply
Norma Pain December 10, 2021 Thank you for commenting Joseph. Very occasionally they come in handy but mostly I say, ‘to the Devil with them’! Reply
Julian D. Woodruff December 9, 2021 Maybe “It’s too darn hot” was a song Cole Porter’s mother taught him. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant December 9, 2021 Huge fun, Norma! I hate to admit, I can relate to the sentiment of this poem and the images you have chosen to convey these fevered nights of hellish heat are spot on… to think, I used to welcome such nights in my youth. 😉 Thank you for the giggle. Reply
Norma Pain December 10, 2021 Thank you for your comments Susan. It is not a subject that is widely popular or enjoyed! Evan’s depiction says it all for me…. oh dear… am I there already!! Reply
Norma Pain December 10, 2021 Thank you C.B. If only sympathy were a cure I would be forever indebted to you. Reply
Paul Freeman December 10, 2021 To freeze out those hot flashes, may I advise to you, keep on hand a fire extinguisher, preferably, CO2. Thanks for the read, Norma. Reply
Norma Pain December 10, 2021 Thank you for the suggestion Paul but I think I’ll stick with my ceiling fan and ice packs! I have heard of people dying of spontaneous combustion but so far, I’m still here. Reply
Mia December 14, 2021 If I did not know from the title that this poem is about hot flushes, I would say that it fits perfectly with how I feel when I go to bed after watching the news the past eighteen months. Yes definitely Hades and the Hounds of Hell! Just wanted to say that your excellent poem can be interpreted in another way. But isn’t that the beauty of some poems? Thank you for such a great poetic description. Reply
Norma Pain December 14, 2021 Thank you so much Mia for taking the time to comment on my ‘hot flash’ poem. I agree that the Devil and the Hounds of Hell are alive and well and continuing to fry many people’s brains to the point that they cannot see what is happening. Reply