Warsaw September 1944.

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The woman lights the last candle
Measures time by the stub of wax
How long before the rats grow bolder
Waiting in the fringe shadows
Pink noses raised, inquiring
~
How long since they bricked the sewer
How long since the infant’s last whimper
How long since her breasts ran dry
”Wait Minka, we will return”
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Echo drops on the floor of slime
The flame of sanity, burning lower
She rocks the covered bundle
Sings a remembered lullaby
~
W górze tyle gwiazd,
W dole tyle miast.
Gwiazdy miastom daj¹ znaæ,
¯e dzieci musza spaæ...


Translation

So many stars above,
So many cities at the bottom.
Stars are giving signs to cities,
That children must go to sleep!
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After the failure of the Warsaw uprising in 1944 the survivors hid in the underground sewers, some erecting false brick walls to avoid the vengeance of the SS who, after searching for survivors sealed the sewers with explosives.