1349 - Dance of death

The Black Death was at its height in Europe
In 1349. Guesswork is all
We have for actual death rates, but its top
Estimate is around a third were killed
Perhaps more in parts of Asia; the fields
Of China and India were corpse-strewn
As badly as London and Florence reeled
Bodies rotting in empty houses; thrown
In mass graves when found. The cause was unknown
Was it God’s anger? Should the Jews be stopped
And burned, in towns like Köln, Mainz and Basel?
The best hope was to keep far from the town
The monks tended the sick and then were cropped
In their turn by the plague that still appals