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Light of Silent Moon

Light of silent moon swathed in a gray cloud
Spoke to me through the unshuttered blind,
And though I closed my eyes to shut it out
I could not leave the horrific scene behind,
Of shrill barking voices, the cold receptionist
Deciding who would live and who would die
In the deadly chambers of the foreboding camp,
Where it did no good for a prisoner to resist.
The account I read before I tried to sleep,
Told of one who watched his family disappear
Into the cavernous jaws of a hellish demise,
No time to question, no opportunity to weep.
Light of silent moon swathed in a gray cloud
Watching helplessly over the Auschwitz camp
Where is their God? The Protector of the Jews?
And still, they believed … for cryin’ out loud!

written January 22, 2022

Copyright © L Milton Hankins | Year Posted 2022

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Caren Krutsinger Date: 1/25/2022 1:36:00 AM I knew it was "Auschwitz camp" long before I arrived at this line. My hair was standing on end. I feel in another lifetime I was one of the victims there. Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 1/25/2022 9:04:00 AM I have been, for lack of a better word, fascinated by the Holocaust. I don't know why. I have read so many books about it. We visited the Ann Frank House in Amsterdam. My heart was so moved by it. You could have been, Caren. I believe that.

Tom Cunningham Date: 1/23/2022 1:08:00 AM Another dark period in mankinds past, there are always those who see minority groups as the cause of their problems, many Germans supported Hitler as they saw him as some sort of saviour. That said there were many who opposed him like the White Rose but they were all caught and executed. God came for the Jews in the form of the liberators but for many it was too late. Its a sick world we live in as it still goes on today. Tom Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 1/23/2022 9:25:00 AM Unfortunately, that is true, Tom. Thanks so much for this thoughtful, insightful comment. You are a man of considerable wisdom, and I appreciate you very much!

Gershon Wolf Date: 1/22/2022 5:58:00 PM Thanks for penning this, Milt. So many did keep their faith 'til the bitter end, and some made it through miraculously. Great tribute to the power of faith. Here's to Justice. ~ Gershon Login to Reply L Milton Hankins Date: 1/22/2022 7:12:00 PM My life has been inexorably changed time and again by the many books I have read about the Holocaust, gw. I have traveled the world over, but still refuse to go to Germany! I do not harbor ill-feelings toward the new Germany or its people, but, I simply cannot go there! Night trilogy by Elie and Marion Wiesel is an awesome account, as you already surely know.