Gentle, dainty
darling of my childhood,
fairytales, Anderson and Grimm
did the horror come true for you?
We begged you to stay
where it was safe
but no, you would go back to Berlin
and your old age pension
didn't want to bother us
left us full of guilt.
You with your white hair
piled high like a castle
black silk dress
white lace jabot
high button boots
smiling eyes
darling of my childhood.
Berlin 30th January 1933
for Brian Fewster
At school assembly
I couldn't raise my arm
for that infamous man
and so it all began.
Took all we had
said our goodbyes to
loving aunt, best friend
(she dared to visit me)
to where no one understood
my words.
I'm on the outside looking in.
Orthodox, Progressive?
I didn't know the difference then
chose neither.
I made my father choose
Christmas or Chanukah
both Festivals of Light.
I hid my true identity until
my gentle English man
taught me to be.
I wear my house around me
like a snail
it's crowded being me.
Footprints
A spider
makes its determined way
across the carpet
owning it momentarily
while I'm listening
to a radio discussion
on Haydn and Mozart
Vienna and Prague, 1780s
where my great-grandfather
walked the cobbled pavements
behind the great ones.
Footprints are everything.
Copyright © Anne Kind, 2011.
|
