Auschwitz Mother
AUSCHWITZ MOTHER
mother, your skin
is so thin
the light shines
on your face so bright
i can read
my book
without opening the blinds
or wondering if today
you will be kind.
there is something truly miraculous about you.
you have survived
the death of a baby,
a husband, a son,
yet you will have none
of it for yourself.
your old bones rattle
when you walk
and when you talk
i lean forward to catch
a word here and there
while you lean forward
to bite off my ear.
and when the plates
are on the table
i am perfectly able
to catch your gypsy curse.
(you think i should have suffered worse.)
mother, you are neither gypsy
nor jew but with your dark hair,
dark eyes and wicked smile
you somehow managed to fly
high over the smoke
and never once choked
on the odor of ash and hair.
mother, you even managed
to walk through the gate
and go straight
to those you loved more.
(it wasn't me, was it?)
mother, is it simply
there was no room
in the (your) womb
or did you know
when i emerged different and blue
i managed to know the true you?
mother, your skin
is so thin i can see
the darkness by the light of day
so believe me when i say:
you have not escaped.
they are coming for you today.
Copyrighted
March 22, 2011
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