The bird’s nest

For Holocaust Memorial Day PreservedAs a necessaryMonumentTo brutality A wind blowsThroughThe draughty Barracks ShelvesFor piled bodiesOn the cusp ofSilence EmptyExcept memoriesJust walls nowFloor People lived hereDiedSurvivedHuman souls DeathShadowsWatchingWitnesses And yetIn the raftersLifeEndures A bird’s nestEmptyPreservedLife Photo by Serafima Lazarenko on Unsplash Note: Many years ago, I visited Auschwitz with Zach while he was living in …

Beware

Beware the ones who sayI’ve read thatTo every book you mentionWho always have a counterexample Or a riposte, who are never caughtWithout a ready answerAnd exist in a state of impermeable poise Beware the ones who file awayKnowledge like munitionsTrapped in an intellectual arms raceWho consume to increase their powerRather than to appreciate their ignoranceAnd cannot …

Fairytales

If deathIs an unhappy endingThen all our storiesHave unhappy endings That is not howI want to see my lifeViewed through fogged glassOf grief and loss Happily ever afterDoes not requireImmortality or denialWe choose it every day Photo by Cederic Vandenberghe on Unsplash

Where’s mama?

(This poem / might be triggering / for some people) Where’s mama?She’s workingWhere’s mama?She’s in the bathroomWhere’s mama?She’s cooking dinnerShe’s writingShe’s busyWhere’s mama?Tonight she’s meeting a friend Where’s mama?She’s off on a visit to the doctorWhere’s mama?She’s cleaningIt makes her feel calmerWhere’s mama?She just needs a moment aloneSometimes we feel betterAfter a good cryWhere’s mama?She’ll …

Hot

The heat starts deep under my skin, pushing towards the surface with the force and inevitability of an oncoming wave. I can feel when it starts, but by then it is too late. I can tell myself that I am not actually hot, just flooded with sensation, but it makes no difference. I am warm, …

Drifting

Before I slipBeneath the surfaceInto the world of dreamsI just want to sayI love youAnd did you rememberTo put out the garbage Photo by Matheus Vinicius on Unsplash