by Barbara Sonek
We played, we laughed
we were loved.
We were ripped from the arms of our
parents and thrown into the fire.
We were nothing more than children.
We had a future. We were going to be lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers. We had dreams, then we had no hope. We were taken away in the dead of night like cattle in cars, no air to breathe smothering, crying, starving, dying. Separated from the world to be no more. From the ashes, hear our plea. This atrocity to mankind can not happen again. Remember us, for we were the children whose dreams and lives were stolen away.
- What is your initial reaction to this poem?
- Hurtful, and horror of how this could be done to a human being
- How does the author use 'we' in this poem?
- The author uses the word 'we' as a collective noun to enclose the group 'Jews'
- What are the verbs used in the first sentence?
- Played
- Laughed
- Loved
- What are the verbs used in the second sentence? How do they contrast with those used in the first sentence?
- Ripped
- Thrown
- These show harsh feelings compared to the playful and fun words in the previous question.
- What effect does the listing of 'lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers'? What is it meant to signify?
- That they could have been highly successful people but instead they were killed
- What simile is used in the poem and what effect does it have?
- 'Like cows in cars', meaning they had no choice, couldn't do anything but wait for what would come next
- How has the poet represented herself in the last sentence?
- By being the advocate for the Jewish children, who were killed during the holocaust.
- If you could communicate to this person, a victim of the Holocaust, what would you want to say? What do you feel that you must do in your life as a response to this poem?
- Stand up for the beliefs of the writer and let them know that I support their views and ethics completely.
