The Holocaust - A Poem of Remembrance

The human sacrifices associated with War.

The Holocaust - A Poem of Remembrance 

Skeletal frames,

whose beaten hearts

once bore

the heft of Hitler's war,

who knelt en masse

(in silence quaked)

with stifled groans

beneath the veil of death.

Through reddened

tear-stained eyes

they prayed in vain

for meager crumbs of hardened,

moldy, bread.

While Kristallnacht 

fueled raging fires

that burned old memories

and future dreams.

Death trains droned,

broken bones were stacked,

as clinking gold

removed from teeth

shattered the serenity of night.

Yet, through the horror

of sacrificial lambs

an image loomed

within a vapor cloud:

Rachel, weeping drops of blood,

"My children are no more."

And what remained

were piles of sable ash,

(unmarked by granite stones)

that filled the earthen pits.

Yet, I still weep

for what was flesh

reduced to bone and cinder -

for those with silent tongues

who turned away.

If tears were oceans

mine have formed them all. 

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

love the last two lines...this is so full of tragedy and sadness. I feel Sylvia Plath's heart beating in this poem...something she might have written, but surely would have related to, as she dealt with her relationship with her father...
you have a strong voice.
j.

[wordman]

great tribute to such a horrifying time

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

Thank you wordman. Your input means a lot. :-)

[wordman]

you`re welcome,,i write one a few years ago about it to

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

Why not post it? :-)

[wordman]

i did,,5438079 is the title

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

I'll look it up. This site is really slow, referencing the time it takes me to reply to each post. I don't know why this is the case.

[wordman]

no idea,,happy new year

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

Happy New Year to you, as well.

[wordman]

thank you ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

I'm going to check out your poem now.

[wordman]

don`t remember what page,maybe 4

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

I found it under search and commented.

Happy New Year.

[wordman]

thank you ,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Onlyme]

Harsh, tragic, sad and painful. Reminders of suffering that should never have happened to anyone in life. Thank you for sharing a poem of this atrocity.

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

You're welcome, Dawn. I wish I didn't have to write on this painful subject.

Yet, it is my meager contribution to that horrific period in time.

Thanks for your input.

[An owl on the moon]

Such powerful words... such a painful aching... such horrendous loss that cannot be retrieved... And somehow the hate still lives.. the voice of it creeps through the barren places. I cannot fathom these oceans of tears... cannot believe more are being shed... How can it still be, this fire that never ends... these beautiful lives no more... this Holocaust?

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

Yes, you speak truth and even today, in this century, in this country (the U.S.) these atrocities are still occurring. When will this hate end?

What people fail to realize is we will all be judged. Our soul contains an audio/video of everything we have done from birth to the grave and at our death the soul will be released from our bodies. At God's judgment each soul, containing the log of our entire lives, will be played back like a DVD. And God will mete out our judgment accordingly. No one will escape God's wrath.

And if people do not believe there is a God, they should make themselves aware of the recent scientific findings. DNA studies show we all originated from one male and one female (Adam and Eve). With that in mind, the bible is true and God is true. Check out these new DNA studies on the internet, confirming humans originated from one male and one female. :-)

[An owl on the moon]

Ah, I had just read this study yesterday... so fascinating... yes... connecting us all as one... all from God's hand... Wanting so much for us all to see it... to know we are all connected. And loved...

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

It's amazing to me that anyone could look at the wonders of this world and decide it originated by accident. The human eye itself should convince even the most skeptic among us. Take care!

[George David Hope]

My Polish God father was in Auschwitz. Visited the camp when I was 7 and was not allowed to go around it so was placed in a room with other children while my parents and god father looked around. Being the only English kid there and having all the other kids talking to me in a language I couldn't understand scared me. Revisited about 20 years ago and was stunned by the silence..not a bird could be heard. Really liked this poem (I did one on a bit like it for a competition) it didn't get placed but I still like it. Thanks for sharing. These crimes must never be forgotten

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

Your story is, indeed, a sad one. What an eerie feeling that not one bird chirped in that area and you heard only silence. I get chills thinking of your words. I don't believe the crimes of the Holocaust will ever be forgotten, though some choose to pretend they never occurred. Take care of yourself! :-)

[Wesley Dingler]

My great grandmother was a Holocaust survivor. Personally, I find this type of material scary. Not creepy, but absolutely frightening.
You just have to understand two things about this, ONE you have written an excellent poem here, my lady. TWO everything that happened to our people had to happen and could not have happened any other way.
Try not to feel to sad, we still endure. It was clandestine.

Excellent job, Tamara, as always.

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

Thank you Wesley. Yes, you are correct. What happened is scary, mainly because there is nothing preventing it from happening again. Do we learn from history? That is the question, and does history repeat itself, we cannot know?

I'm happy to know your great grandmother survived.

Take care and thank you for reviewing the poem. :-)

[Einstein Noodle]

harsh but beautifully said ... thank you for educating me about "Crystal Night" ..i had not learned of that term and meaning before ... i am presently reading the book "All But My Life" by Gerda Weismann ... a holocaust survivor ... i like the way the form is ...a mix of 4 and 5 lines per verse that trails to couplets in closing ... my reading kind so slows and it allows the points to sink solidly in ..i also like the straight forward language ... the subject isn't flowery ... "sable ash" really hits me hard ... strong closing says i! and using Rachel of the Old Testament is perfect ... the focus isn't about revenge or hate ...but on the suffering .... the weeping ... universal but brought down to one woman's tears to fill the oceans .. love your poem .. its a keeper and tribute of remembrance ...
E.

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

Thank you so much Einstein Noodle. Love your name. I appreciate you having taken the time to read and critique the poem.

I've read over 101 books on personal accounts of the Holocaust and one of the best, if not the best, is the following:

I Have Lived A Thousand Years: Growing Up In The Holocaust ...
www.amazon.com › Books › History › World

"I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in The Holocaust" is well written and informative true story from a survivor of anti-Semitism that was present in 1938 Europe.
4.7/5(412)
Author: Livia Bitton-Jackson
Price: 6.48
Format: Mass Market Paperback

If you haven't read this book, you should.
Thanks again for your kind comments. :-)

[Einstein Noodle]

thanks for the tip, Tamara! i will have to do that ... 101 books ... wow! you have a keen interest don't you?! :)

[Coyote Poetry]

Many races were effected by the German need to erase races. Over a million Gypsies were killed also. The sad part is. Since WW2. Many nations did the same. Today Israel is trying is trying to erase a great people. Saudi Arabia is destroying her neighbor. Syria and the Christians in Iraq. Your poem powerful and true. I wish men would learn. Every life had value. New world of today. More cold-blooded. Mass murder and few are complaining. I met two death camp survivors and they wanted peace, not revenge. Thank you Tamara for sharing your powerful words.
Coyote

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

Coyote, what you have stated is true concerning other countries and their desire to destroy their enemies (neighboring countries). The world's inhabitants are much colder and more ruthless.

Wasn't there an old cliche, something to the effect, "If we do not learn from history, it will repeat itself." This, unfortunately, seems an appropriate statement and is descriptive of today's climate.

[Coyote Poetry]

You are right. If we forget the past. It is repeated. This is sad.

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

Sad, but unfortunately true.

[Neville]

these words are deserving of at least six million hits and a candle lit for every one of them..... Neville

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

Thank you, Neville.

What a stain the holocaust was on this supposed civilized world.

[Neville]

yes.. to call it an absolute disgrace would be nothing but an understatement.. thank you for crafting such an appropriately poignant and focused poem.......... N

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

You're welcome, Neville. I've read so many personal accounts of the Holocaust, way over 100, so I felt I had to acknowledge those who died for no other reason than being born Jewish. It's a disgrace and will always be, in my opinion, a black mark on humanity itself.

[Neville]

no one is likely to argue with you....

[Paul Bell]

Always amazes me that people deny the Holocaust.
Viktor Frankl tells all in his books.
But even today the enormity of the death camps beggers belief.
A stain on civilization.

[Tamara Beryl Latham]

Thank you for reading and offering feedback.

I don't really believe people deny the holocaust.

My belief is that this period in time is too painful for people to digest and therefore, as a type of transference, they deny it completely.