Olivia
The last trip, our last travel together. Separated.
Nothing left to gather as I pry what was taken
from me and separate it from others.
The Pain it takes to burn the remains of memories,
of people, makes me ache.
I cling on to the last trip’s heart in a broken luggage tag stuffed up my sleeve.
Back and forth,
Back and forth,
humanity’s edge is despised most have fallen straight off on another train to another trip above forever.
Remembering it like yesterday being pulled away from the love once shared between two hands that were once held. Separated.
Almost as if it’s inching up my spine the broken sheets glued together in the center, is the glimpse of hope I share to get out of here.
Pushing pulling past one another,
Discrimination between those who all have a heart is broken.
I stopped asking myself why this, why us, why my family, why my son,
It only lengthens the pain while dragging me, to the deeper end of the swimming pool, which became my prison.
Everyone’s prison.
The experience of living together in unity,
separated from the innocent, now ruined forever, from the ones who haven’t lived a lie. Children.
Slipping away like sunlight when a day is done, never having the freedom to say what I want.
Trapped on a train to my last destination, and I’ll be on the next trip forever with a broken memory stuffed up my sleeve.
Rationale
The story behind my poem is from the perspective of a middle-aged Jewish man who was brought to the concentration camp and separated from his wife and son. His job in the camp is to sort through everyone’s belongings and then burn them. The only personal thing he has to hold on to is a ripped luggage tag that he always keeps stuffed up his sleeve. Throughout the poem, he is describing the loss of humanity that the Germans have and the fear he has for his family. Towards the end of the poem, he describes getting on another train that he will not get off and this is implying that he will pass soon. I used the word “trip” frequently to connect it back to traveling and experiencing new things with freedom which is something that the Jewish people have lost. Another word that is used is “dragging” and I used this to emphasize that the longer ur in the camp the longer you feel like you’re trapped and that you’re being “dragged” around like an object rather than a person. When I use the word “innocent” I’m referring to the innocence lost from the children, because they’re in the camp and being treated poorly, they are experiencing trauma at a young age and losing their youth.
MLA works cited:
“From Litzmannstadt Ghetto to the Auschwitz - Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum - Google Arts & Culture.” Google Arts & Culture, Google Arts & Culture, 2015, artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/from-litzmannstadt-ghetto-to-the-auschwitz%C2%A0/_wLCioT78jXIKw.
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