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| Anne Frank's Diary (cropped) |
Anne shows she was a bundle of contradictions—
in to out, out to in—
when home was lost and only one safe place remained.
Anne asks ‘whether it wouldn’t have been better if
Anne asks ‘whether it wouldn’t have been better if
we hadn’t gone into hiding,
if we were dead now and . . . Let something happen soon. . . .” 1
Out of sight, behind the door of her cage
she wrote silently “ifonly there were no other people in the world.” 2
Can inner life be sanctuary
enough to
save questions without ink?
save questions without ink?
Will border guards issue journals
with locked cages?
Imagine refugees recording
their stories
three days before leaving
home, tucking their word
processors into pockets—
Or leaving them in home
computers and writing
more in between the lines
of the one book they carry
with them all their lives.
Imagine Emmett Till’s diary of
teenage
dreams and Michael Brown’s
and
those of targets who forget danger
just. this. once.
A bundle of contradictions,
this gift of life
with full knowledge of what
tragedies we are capable of
inflicting.
Tragedies we are capable of
inflicting
—but incapable of
bearing—live in this unspeakable
history.
Pray we look straight into the eyes of the present
to prevent victim hood
to prevent victim hood
and disrupt sacrificial narratives.
Pray we contradict senseless displacement so no
children face cruelty—
so children thrive in our safe and welcoming world.
For my prompt: Poets United Midweek Motif ~
"a bundle of contradictions"
(from Anne Frank's last letter)
Influenced by Cynthia Ozick, “The Misuse of Anne Frank’s Diary,” New Yorker, <https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/10/06/who-owns-anne-frank
[1]
Anne Frank, Last Diary Entry, Tuesday, 1 August 1944 <https://archive.org/stream/AnneFrankTheDiaryOfAYoungGirl_201606/Anne-Frank-The-Diary-Of-A-Young-Girl_djvu.txt.>.
[2]
Anne Frank, Diary Entry from 26 May, 1844. <https://archive.org/stream/AnneFrankTheDiaryOfAYoungGirl_201606/Anne-Frank-The-Diary-Of-A-Young-Girl_djvu.txt.>.
My blog poems are rough drafts.
Please respect my copyright.
Please respect my copyright.
© 2018 Susan L. Chast
Superlative. This iis wonderful to read and contemplate. Some refugees do write their books, once safe from the horrors they fled.The ones being written of these times may contain some chapters of surprise when they reach our shores.
ReplyDeleteThe tears that I shed, are in hope this dream becomes a reality, Susan.
ReplyDeleteI like the focus on present victims. That is often forgotten.
ReplyDelete"Imagine Emmett Till’s diary of teenage / dreams and Michael Brown’s..." The lines brought tears. I so much appreciate the strength and power of the last two stanzas. Sad story of Anne Frank has not yet ended. I wonder will it ever end?
ReplyDeleteA deep provocative write Susan. My favourite stanza:
ReplyDelete"Tragedies we are capable of inflicting
—but incapable of
bearing—live in this unspeakable history."
much love...
The children. I am so glad you brought the children into your poem. We tend to forget that Anne Frank herself was a child when she was sent to her death. And it's so easy to forget the children who have been put in cages and will die a thousand deaths before they are old men and old women.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful write!! Thanks so much Susan.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an exquistely reflective write, Susan! I love "Can inner life be sanctuary enough to save questions without ink?" 💞
ReplyDeleteI like the way you've put yourself in Anne's shoes in this poem, Susan, especially in the questions:
ReplyDelete'Can inner life be sanctuary enough to
save questions without ink?
Will border guards issue journals with locked cages?'
I also like the way you link Anne's experience to that of modern-day refugees, and the lines:
'A bundle of contradictions, this gift of life
with full knowledge of what
tragedies we are capable of inflicting'.
Deeply thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteTotally second that last prayer.. may it reach the right ears.
ReplyDeleteTragedies we are capable of inflicting
—but incapable of
bearing— so true.. look around and see what we've become... wonderfully written!
Suffering is present all around us. Although the WW2 holocaust probably is the pinnacle of the worst horror. Anne Frank said that people were mostly good. We are supposed to be made in the image of God. Something has gone horribly wrong.
ReplyDeleteHeartbreaking, these lines:
ReplyDelete"Can inner life be sanctuary enough to
save questions without ink?
Will border guards issue journals with locked cages?"
How do people not learn from their past mistakes? I'm hoping that years from now, this shameful historical moment we live in will have served as a deterrent for more atrocities...
Nothing stung me more than 'tragedies we are capable of inflicting yet incapable of bearing.' The idea of those emigrants writing the daily suffering in a journal, is something I keep going back to. What a fabulous poem ,
ReplyDelete