"Dearest Kitty, ". . . Can you please tell me exactly what "a bundle of contradictions" is? What does "contradiction" mean? Like so many words, it can be interpreted in two ways: a contradiction imposed from without and one imposed from within. The former means not accepting other people's opinions, always knowing best, having the last word; in short, all those unpleasant traits for which I'm known. The latter, for which I'm not known, is my own secret. As I've told you many times, I'm split in two. One side contains my exuberant cheerfulness, my flippancy, my joy in life and, above all, my ability to appreciate the lighter side of things. By that I mean not finding anything wrong with flirtations, a kiss, an embrace, an off-color joke. This side of me is usually lying in wait to ambush the other one, which is much purer, deeper and finer. . . ."
written august 1st 1944
three days later
kitty who never was
and you who never will be
took the one way
german cattle truck express trip
to auschwitz
on arrival
the sirens
blazing lights
guttural shouts
orders
alsatian dogs
wagner
leider
running
loud speakers
putrid smoke
were
a veritable re-enactment of dante's inferno
in the panic and haste
a very knowing insightful
little girl left her diary behind
we all read it
we knew what those blue numbers meant
on the lady's arm who worked in the delicatessen
they are tattooed on our memory for the rest of our lives
we don't see them anymore
Midweek Motif - MLMM
Wow! This came into me like a chilling north wind. Austere and powerful.
ReplyDeleteMembers of my dad's family grew up in northern and southern regions of the Nederland, during WWII. Not such was shared by the uncles and aunts to us, children. Especially, the Hunger Winter of 1944-5. One talk about eating flower bulbs for food. Otherwise, silence.
ReplyDeleteTight vivid imagery.
ReplyDelete...and some days I'm indeed like Tuck!
This one completely blew me away! Such potent verse 💞
ReplyDeleteYour poem leaves me breathless, just as the smoke from the crematoria would.
ReplyDeleteA powerful write. I am so glad Anne's diary was discovered.......i can see that woman at the deli, who survived the unimaginable.
ReplyDeleteYour poem compels us to see the happenings of the time. Powerful.
ReplyDeleteWonderful, heart-rending poem.
ReplyDelete