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Open Poetry #5
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Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania

0 posted 2000-01-27 08:20 PM


Having read Hoot's poem on the Holocaust, I challenged myself to write about this most difficult of subjects, but found I could not do it justice. But these are some of my thoughts.

The Holocaust

Anguish, disbelief and terror
Engraved in Jewish eyes
To go forth into a place where
Degradation was the prize

To be caught in unawareness
Of the world beyond a gate
For a family bound by kinship
Separation was the fate

Held prisoner of insanity
The cruelest deed on earth
To be taken from a home
And raped of dignity and worth

To pain in hollow hunger
And to pray for meager share
Of some bread upon a table
Where starvation was the fare

To plod a naked line of souls
A number for a name
In this place humiliation was
The misery of the game

To be stripped of one's identity
Of pride and very soul
To be herded to a place where
Annihilation was the goal

A product of contorted mind's
Most sinister of goals
The bounty was the vicius kill
Of those six million souls

Too grievous for the spirit's grasp
Too horrific for the mind
The most inhumane of marks
To curse the conscience of mankind

Elizabeth Santos




[This message has been edited by Elizabeth Santos (edited 01-28-2000).]

© Copyright 2000 Elizabeth Santos - All Rights Reserved
Echo Rhayne
Senior Member
since 1999-09-17
Posts 1495
Canyon Country, CA
1 posted 2000-01-27 08:40 PM


deleted!  Sorry Liz, but thank you for your reply, although I already talked to you about it via IM!

[This message has been edited by Echo Rhayne (edited 01-28-2000).]

Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania
2 posted 2000-01-27 08:46 PM


I am going to miss your wonderful poetry.
You put me to shame
LOve
Liz

Balladeer
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-05
Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA
3 posted 2000-01-28 12:08 PM


No one can put you to shame, Elizabeth. Your writing is superb!
hoot_owl_rn
Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750
Glen Hope, PA USA
4 posted 2000-01-28 12:25 PM


Excellent poem Liz...I visited a number of web pages on the Holocaust this morning before posting my poem to find a suitable picture I could post here in open that gave some clue as to the horrors and sheer volumes of people. The pictures I found, the articles I read all struck pain and terror in my heart. What was done there should never occur again...and God willing, it won't or if it does, I'm not around to witness the sights. I am not Jewish, but the horrors have struck me and I feel the pain those families must have gone through. Thank you for responding. You said the same thing to Echo I did  
Oh, by the way, I found a number of sites wanting poetry on the Holocaust...not sure about payment, but if you or Echo are interested...please let me know, I'll get you the URL's.

Seymour Tabin
Member Empyrean
since 1999-07-07
Posts 31720
Tamarac Fla
5 posted 2000-01-28 10:53 AM


Elizabeth,
Sorry I missed this one. You did a wonderful job of description but there can be no description of what happened. I think balladeer came closest and even he was lacking. It is beyond my understanding and will remain so. Love Sy

LngJhnAg
Member Elite
since 1999-07-23
Posts 3508
Boot+Kitty=Poetry in motion
6 posted 2000-01-28 11:00 AM


Very well written, Liz.  We must never believe, however, that the Holocaust is over.  Millions of people die each year because one faction or another believes its own destiny overrides all other concerns.  Look no further than the Sudan, central Africa, Bosnia, or a multitude of other locales to see that the horror lives on.  In historical perspectives, Stalin's leadership resulted in the systematic starvation of tens of millions.  The Holocaust is alive and well, but we see it no more clearly than our forefathers.
Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-11-08
Posts 9269
Pennsylvania
7 posted 2000-01-28 01:21 PM


Sy,
This is a subject that has haunted me since I was a little girl,for some unknown reason, I knew of it before I was told.I saw it in recurring dreams when I was very young.
And you are right, I do not have the words to describe it or to express how I feel, it is something beyond words or expression. And LngJhnAg, you are right, it still goes on today in some places, too sorrowful for the heart to consume.
Thank you all for commenting on this poem
Liz

Dark Angel
Member Patricius
since 1999-08-04
Posts 10095

8 posted 2000-01-28 05:36 PM


Elizabeth, this is excellent my friend,I remember at School failing this subject,cause it horrified me!! and I did not want to know about it. The trauma those innocent people and children went through.
well done Elizabeth!!!

 What comes from the heart goes to the heart.
Samuel Coleridge



Denise
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-08-22
Posts 22648

9 posted 2000-01-28 05:53 PM


Cruelty of this kind is beyond my grasp also...the pain they suffered is unfathomable. Excellent poem, Elizabeth.

Denise

Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191
Cape Cod Massachusetts USA
10 posted 2000-01-28 09:50 PM


Well, Elizabeth - You're much braver than I... I don't think I could ever do this subject justice... Nice job, my friend
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