I had the privilege of living next door to an elderly gentleman for a short period of time. He rarely spoke of it but I discovered he had been a child prisoner of Auschwitz. He knew too of my own childhood grief and showed such sympathies despite the *


To be free...

I knew him, not well I would say
Yet without doubt he was my friend
Much older than I can hope to be
but somehow the years transcend

The tales he told of childhood fears
Brought me feelings I long since hid
Together, apart we had faced our truths
Unintended victims of what others did

So many thousands he watched disappear
His only thought that next would be he
My personal loss not insignificant
But life teaches what will be must be

He passed away in this his 90th year
Auschwitz influenced all that he'd been
The words on those gates, unforgotten
Their truth "TOD macht frei" unseen


**I had the privilege of living next door to an elderly gentleman for a short period of time. He rarely spoke of it but I discovered he had been a child prisoner of Auschwitz. He knew too of my own childhood grief and showed such sympathies despite the horrors he endured. His passing has at last freed him from the memories.





Poetry by Liam The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 540 times
Written on 2019-03-18 at 11:58

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arquious The PoetBay support member heart!
Oh, this is grave and so much to be borne! Poignant and yet bristling with life. The tales and histories of older folk are like Time coming to life, living artefacts — living connections to times gone by. So sad when that life comes to its end.
2019-09-12


Jamsbo Rockda The PoetBay support member heart!
I mean't conscience :)
2019-03-21


Jamsbo Rockda The PoetBay support member heart!
I hope he is free now from the bad memories. I continually cannot believe how horrid people can be to people of their own species. It is good that people like you continue to pass on their story. In hope it will not happen again. But unfortunately it does.
This is what poets do. They are the conscious of a sad world. Bravo.
2019-03-19


josephus The PoetBay support member heart!
Breathtaking... I can't think of another word!

I used to visit a death camp when I worked in Poland. It was only five minutes from my office. It was where I reset myself when nothing sells could. Those that survived there were forever changed. We need to hear them today more than ever.
2019-03-18