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Life in a Jar
| Open Poetry #46 |
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Life in a Jar |
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Balladeer
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-05
Posts 25505Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA 
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She hid them in false bottoms of tool boxes every day The bigger ones she placed in burlap sacks And, with her friends to help her, she helped carry them away By toting them like laundry on their backs. She trained her dog to bark whenever anyone got near In case that there were muffled moans or cries Then put them in her truck and drove 'till they were in the clear From Nazi guards and their suspicious eyes. Her name - Irena Sendler, has been known to but a few But, near 3,000 children had been saved By this courageous lady whose a hero to the Jews And saved so many from an early grave. "Twas in the Warsaw ghetto that Irena made her stand. Her odds of helping were not very good But, though, she and her comrades were severly under-manned She had to save the children, if she could. Her job was to inspect the sewers . That was her disguise And, with her tool box hollowed out just right, She managed to fit babies in, according to their size And slip them out in darkness of the night. She took the names of every one and placed them in a jar And buried them for no one else to find Then found homes for the children to protect them from the war In place of parents forced to leave behind. In 1943, the Nazis caught her in the act, Broke arms and legs and beat her, constantly They sentenced her to death but, before that became a fact, A bribe to guards gave her the chance to flee. She hid until the war had ended, went back to her town And took the names from all the hidden jars Then tracked down all the children and the parents to be found To be united at the end of war. She was recognized by Yad Vashem with their Commander's Cross. Pope John Paul also penned his grateful praise For her strong and tireless effort to help lessen Jewish loss And the selfless help she gave in many ways. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in '07 For everything that she'd done in the war But, in a vote that could have made the angels cry in Heaven She lost. The Nobel Prize went to Al Gore. Perhaps if everyone she helped could rise up from the grave And cast their vote in Sweden, one by one, Recounting her heroic deeds and how their lives were saved I have a feeling that she would have won. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In 1999, Kansas students produced a play based on research into Irena Sendler's life story entitled Life in a Jar. It has since been adapted to television as The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler. Sendler's story was largely unknown to the world until the students developed The Irena Sendler Project, producing their performance Life in a Jar. This student-produced drama has now been performed over 285 times all across the United States, in Canada and in Poland. Sendler's message of love and respect has grown through the performances, over 1,500 media stories, a student-developed website with 30,000,000 hits, a national teaching award in Poland and the United States, and an educational foundation, the Lowell Milken Education Center, to make Sendler’s story known to the world. Life in a Jar continues to travel around the country sharing Irena's courageous story. [This message has been edited by Balladeer (10-07-2010 07:49 AM).] |
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| © Copyright 2010 Michael Mack - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Earl Brinkman Senior Member
since 2010-03-03
Posts 1183Osaka, Japan |
This was a most fascinating story of a courageous woman. Thanks for telling her story. |
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Gunslinger Senior Member
since 1999-10-09
Posts 901TX, USA |
An excellent job of telling a story that needs telling, and in your inimitable style! Thanks Michael. |
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latearrival Member Ascendant
since 2003-03-21
Posts 5499Florida |
Excellent job with this piece of history Mike. Thanks . latearrival/jo |
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Balladeer
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-05
Posts 25505Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA |
Thank you all. There are so many interesting stories in real life. I confess that, only by mistake did I run across her name and then I found her story fascinating. Glad you enjoyed. |
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Alison 
since 2008-01-27
Posts 9318Lumpy oatmeal makes me crazy! |
Michael, Thank you. Alison |
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Eusta B. Mae Senior Member
since 2010-05-03
Posts 903 |
I had heard of this woman and you honor her well with your wonderful words, thank you. ebm |
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Marchmadness Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 9271So. El Monte, California |
What a powerful and inspiring story, Michael. She won that prize as far as I'm concerned. Ida |
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Denise
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-08-22
Posts 22648 |
A truly remarkable woman, Michael. Thank you for sharing her story in such a beautiful way. Although she didn't receive the praise of men by winning the Nobel, she received the far more valuable praise of the God she served!  |
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Mary Anne New Member
since 2010-05-27
Posts 9TX |
Truth is better than fiction...and you have reminded us of how one person can make a difference. You have an incredible way with rhyme and meter to tell a story and even more so in this case because your poem is based on a real person and actual events. Bravo, Balladeer! Mary Anne |
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easy1 Senior Member
since 2010-05-22
Posts 1209Southeastern USA |
Yes, most excellent. |
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