A Very Personal Holocaust
On leaving the station all the records
suggest
She was wearing her Paisley patterned
Sunday best dress ..
Not to mention the very fine shawl
embroidered in gold
by an old aunt, with a silver bradawl ..
But let’s not pretend, that was a whole
life time ago ..
Take my word, how things change in
the blink of an eye ..
For later that day, those same records
Proposed
Miss Lonneke Cohen was to lose all she
then owned ..
Her hair and those ribbons and the gold
from her teeth ..
Plus a coat and her red leather boots
were removed by a thief
And swiftly replaced with a yellow star
shaped cotton motif ..
Not to mention that six figure tattoo ..
Yes, the one the
now, Ms. Lonneke Wahl still wears to
this day …
On her forearm, beneath the long sleeves
of her blouse
She keeps hidden away .. and as far as
is known ……………………………. She is now
the only surviving family member
Of the late Marsha and Abraham Cohen …
-
Author:
Neville (
Offline) - Published: August 22nd, 2021 09:31
- Comment from author about the poem: its not all pretty out here folks ... but some things just need to be said and others, should never be forgot ...... N x
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 68
- Users favorite of this poem: Fay Slimm., HannahElisabeth, L. B. Mek.
Offline)
Comments6
A fine write N.
Cheers Mr. O ........................ N
Personal indeed this lament at grossly cruel inhumanity suffered by numberless families not too long ago -- penned with compassion and graphic honesty your account of Miss Cohen's great loss needs to be widely read and remembered -- into my list to make sure I do not forget..... thank you my caring friend.........x
Ah' I knew I could count on you my Lady Fay .. thank you so very muchly and truly tooly .... x
When we hear figures like six million (forgive my ignorance for innacuracy) it just passes by within a second as a part of a sentence which might have a meaning to the listener, it might be a figure heard many times before assosciated with holocaust..... another word which slips by in a second in a sentence....
We know how rich and rewarding our lives are, how precious is our life even if we are homeless beggars around the late night cashpoint, beggars with a life story to tell, and a warm beating heart.
So was every single one of the millions. Every single one. Possessing, hopes, plans, ambitions, sucesses and disappointment. Possessing life in all it's colour.
............ Understatedly true sir .. thank you for adding your words, indeed those words to this page N
Much hard graft went into that, Nev – and more worthy grounds would be hard to find than that alluded to above, that figures like six (twelve?) million slip by, when your piece brings home the loss, personally to every one of them..
But further, for me, one other moral argument for the insistence that this Holocaust can never be forgotten is summarized in the line “Take my word, how things change in the blink of an eye ..” – I will always be mindful that change could occur today , tomorrow, any time.....and evidence since has already proven that it can and has. Rwanda, Cambodia, Bosnia.......................................................................................
You are absolutely right of course Dave .. thank you. Neville
Took me totally by surprise as it went along - just as I suppose it was meant to - how life can change in an instant to something so bad.... those were truly awful times.
they were indeed .. thank you Lorna ..
it took years for the Nazi's
to warp minds and conquer
their own country, the rest
they achieved - in a matter of days...
A heart wrenching read, like how you treated
such a painful subject with so much respect
(this is you
at your subtle and measured best
in my humble opinion)
thanks for sharing, my friend
.... it took years for the Nazi's to warp minds and conquer their own country, the rest they achieved - in a matter of days...
How incredibly and awfully true your words above are sir .. and I am honoured that you posted them on this particular page .................... Neville
But it wasn’t only, was it Neville? If we are going there, an analysis of how and why the Nazis attained the position which allowed them to implement what came to be referred to as the holocaust is essential. Otherwise this is meaningless and has the underlying suggestion that the Nazis were somehow a special case, had special skills….
4 more comments
To be able to comment and rate this poem, you must be registered. Register here or if you are already registered, login here.