Numbers tattooed
on my soul.
Lives snuffed out,
erased,
roots of humanity pulled out
like weeds,
so they would not grow,
or flourish,
so they would not survive.
Numbers tattooed,
like branded animals,
identities robbed,
discarded,
destroyed.
Voices silenced,
voices of philosophers,
voices of philosophers,
poets,
bakers,
doctors,
mothers,
fathers,
children.
The old woman sits with me,
she remembers and weeps.
she remembers walking into
an empty house for refuge,
a photograph
a photograph
of a rabbi on the wall,
his blue eyes haunt her in her dreams.
She remembers hunger,
cold,
despair.
Her grandparents murdered,
her uncle vanished,
her aunt dismembered.
She is a part of me,
a piece of my legacy.
Her eyes the same color as my
beloved father's eyes.
They held hands at the gates of hell
and survived.
I write down the stories
seared with pain
of portraits of life
of portraits of life
ripped apart,
families lost ,
unspeakable horrors.
I write stories,
I witness,
as tears fall down,
we remember.
Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) 2013 begins in the evening of
Sunday, April 7
and ends in the evening of
Monday, April 8.
This poem is for all the millions of lives lost and about my aunt sharing her stories with me.
My dad and my aunt were small children during the holocaust. They witnessed things that were horrid.
We must tell these stories and remember.
mmm...thank you for remembering this...before break we were studying the holocaust in history class...going to the museum a few years ago really hit me hard making it real...so many lives lost....and for what...ugh....thank you again...
ReplyDeleteIt was insanity ....a dark dark time.
Deletegreat remembrance at your sea and yeah was surely a very very low point in history.
ReplyDeleteI agree..and thank you, Pat.
DeleteThose numbers and silent stories must never be forgotten ~ Thank you for this post Ayala ~
ReplyDeleteHave a good Sunday ~ Hugs ~
Thank you, Grace. I hope you had a good weekend as well. :)
DeleteThis is so touching and it gave me chills. Thank you so much for sharing this Ayala.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Keith. Not easy for me to think of all the vile memories.... but must remember so it would never happen again.
DeleteWhen I was growing up, my best friend was Jewish and every time they had a family gathering, I was invited and loved it...but I did see some of these tattoos and being only a child, I wondered...and once asked. And, like you, I wept to think that such horrors existed in a world that, until then, I had found completely delightful.
ReplyDeleteThis touched me deeply, ayala.
Thank you so much. My aunt was weeping as she told me her stories....so hard to hear of crimes against my family and against humanity.
DeleteWhat a beautiful, important poem Ayala. Bless you. I worry what will happen when there are no more witnesses left.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary. That's why we need to write down the stories and share them.
Deleteyes - we def. must remember so that something terrible like this can never happen again.. have you ever read "the hiding place" by corrie ten boom? a book i can highly recommend, a personal and very touching story about this time
ReplyDeleteI have not read it but I will write it down on my list of books to read. Thank you, Claudia.
DeleteA sad and tragic remembrance written with love, respect and I thank you, A . xoxo
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jackie. xoxo
DeleteThis poem chilled me throgh and through, as well it should. It must have been a hard one to write. But a valuable one. We need to NEVER forget. Thank you for this.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary. Yes, we need to never forget.
Deletethank you for reminding us to remember with this beautiful tribute, ayala.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joanna. I appreciate it.
DeleteI love this. Haunting...I went back to last year's and re read that too. It's so important to face this loss, never push it under a rug...to remember. Thanks for your heart!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Adrienne. Last year you honored me with a beautiful post about the holocaust. I went back and read the poem about my dad..so much pain.
DeleteBeautiful tribute.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rudri.
DeleteTouching and effective, this remembrance, Ayala.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kim.
DeleteHmm. You made me consider stopping more often to have a little think of what is around me.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the only appropriate response to this is silent remembrance. And prayer that we stop killing one another. Have you thought about publishing a chapbook of poems about the holocaust?
ReplyDeleteI thought about writing memories of my dad and my aunt as children and I may one day. Thank you, Victoria.
Delete