Long Roofs Poems

World War II Poems and Holocaust Poems V - Ber Horvitz, Yitzkhak Viner, Franta Bass

Der Himmel
"The Heavens"
by Ber Horvitz
loose translation by Michael R. Burch

These skies
are leaden, heavy, gray...
I long for a pair
of deep blue eyes....

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Note to Readers of Previous Versions:
There are so many new vignettes scattered throughout the poem that I hope you will reread the whole thing! There are new GEMS, improvements to previous verses and improved footnotes...

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One morning early a Dad and his son Tom went for a walk in the country, they journeyed
through the still mist looking for flowers for the boy's Mom, but they did not see many.
Just then...

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The Earth dry and bare; waiting eagerly for the drops of care;
 


Caught in the hot, steaming summer’s snare;
 


The flowers and creepers decorating window sills; all look desolate and ill;
 


As the nature withers...

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Downstairs I go
Elevate me, you know 
I'll get over the luv floo
Over the bad days too
Acting like a weirdo
A clown with an upside down frown... I'm a positive Poe 

I'm out of my mind
I can't...

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The white race has a point
But that doesn't mean
They should treat us improper
The white race has a point
Nature is repeating it over and over
White snow, white moon
white Jesus, white angels
white robes, white clouds
White pedestrian crossing
White...

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Like water

I was the river
You were the sea
I dissolved into you
And thought I was free.
Out of the cage I flew
But landed on my knees 
As I tried to flee
The heavy clouds
And storms, of responsibility

Your love...

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Absolute deafening silence...

during and after a moderate snowfall
today January 19th, 2024,
within Southeastern Pennsylvania
and elsewhere across the Eastern Seaboard,
whereby blanket of whiteness
muffles sounds of civilization.

I hate a spoiler alert
regarding weather forecasters prediction,
especially when meteorologist
wannabe spouse doth...

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Hear my poem announce, then refine and restate
its life lesson suggestion Surrender YOUR Fear!
Yes, Surrender Your FEAR, watch stick rafters release
(note: I’m ‘Missing, Roof’ too, and I still love my life)
see life’s cobbled roofs fly,...

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Troop ships loading, crowded docks
Mums and sisters waving off
Go with keepsakes, golden locks
Some men hug while many doff

Eric, soldier single stands
Beryl, lonesome widow cares
Many kissing holding hands
Eric stands and Beryl dares

Bump the soldier, make excuse
Apologizing...

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Our lives and our time
Fired useless
Into the air
Toy cap gun shots
Those winter palaces unstormed
No tax offices ransacked
Where is utopia I asked
And no-one knew
They looked at me with pity
As if I still talked
To an imaginary friend
At...

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But we of the Three Tribes live undiscovered 
   In the reverberating stillness of the 
 Three Gorges...
And are therefore unknown to the warring mongol;
    His impassioned lusts -- his...

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That's my dad for you... getting his hands deep into the knitty-gritty, when most others would just back off a safe distance away saying, "No thanks! Maybe when Armageddon comes a'knocking we can talk religion,...

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Rudolf is mysteriously born in a manger
with a flaming red nose,
and eyes,
and ears,
and hair,
everywhere.

Gingers are rare
among his DeerTribe
as is his empathic capacity to know he is going where,
how to get there,
and about how long it...

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Do you sometimes wonder about your self identity
seen through your lens for suicidal risk as opportunity?

It interests me that this lens
evolves as we age.

In later adolescence,
we often look in the face of transition
from good nutritional...

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Now this is a great story… But where to begin… Oh, Yes… I see… 

Our Dear Sheriff of CrazyLand lives in a town called ‘Nodding-off-Ham’
Where peace reigns supreme… and beside the ‘Oh-My-God-River’…
That does keep us...

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Opening Day with a Little Delay

Take me out to the ball game
 Of balls and strikes - bloopers and perfect games; 
 Basket catches, ERA’S, country hardball;
 Foul balls, the pick off, intentional walk, the...

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Moods Colors
My moods are most confusing
Viewed from the outside
Borne aloft on potent waves
Of Emotion's tides
I struggle against the current
Surrender all control
Drowning in the waters
As the cold enters my soul
My moods must be confusing
And it must...

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The remnant of last year’s summer bash lays bear on the ground
Staring at me without a smile or a frown, they just looked at me sitting on the big rock on the other side of...

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abuse, age, discrimination, health, introspection, lonely, old,

Customs To Getting Old  ©


There are very ingrained customs noted when getting old
Getting accustomed to old age is not one of them
One has to be blessed with 65...

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Humanity Canteen

My restaurant is exclusive and classy no paupers allowed though I
have to declare that I picked up the chef near the township where
on a paraffin cooker in his garden of plenty lots of dishevelment...

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AKULA

Mark and I caught the last plane from Ft. Lauderdale to New Orleans to escape Hurricane Andrew, leaving Akula ,our boat, tied up at Rolly Shipyard to face the wrath alone. The next few hell...

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The nights dispel wonders and awe 
The days unfold stupendous enigma
Angels are watching over you
As you battle this valiant crusade
A crusade for equality 
A crusade for stability
Enmesh with peace and honesty.
Angels are watching over you...

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Since I was little you have been around me. My parents enjoyed you as well as their friends. You made the adults loud at the party full of joy and filled with sorrow come the...

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				OLD MYSIE
	“As crazy as Old Mysie” my grandma used to say.

Land company made promises, too good to be true,
To fisherfolk from Isle of Skye, it seemed the thing to do.
Cleared up land and new built...

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