by Eugene Mahon
A Note from the Poetry Editor:
This evening, and continuing until tomorrow evening, is the 2014 observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day – called, alternatively, Holocaust Memorial Day. Because we have in our files a strong poem about this solemn day by one of our readers, Eugene Mahon, we have obtained his permission to post it today for your reflection.
Sincerely,
Irene Willis
Holocaust Remembrance Day
At dawn
the dead arose again,
Millions of specters
Brighter than the sun.
By noon
The stench of memory
Was unbearable,
As if all graves
Re-opened,
The dead breathing
Their last again.
By night
The stench of the living
Was unbearable
As if all clothes
Were banished,
And naked crime
Hadn’t a stitch
To wear,
And even shame
Went barefoot.
And then the silence.
And then the screams again.
And then the dreams
That would not stop.
Eugene Mahon