‘Endurance’

by Johnny

Lin Women in the holocaust, Forced to face pain and loss. Their rights and freedom were taken away, treated as nothing more than mere objects in a ray.

They faced the horrors and brutality of the camps, Where pain and suffering were ramps. They stood strong in the face of fear, But the horrors they endured, none can bear.

Harassed and beaten, forced to work, Their dignity stripped away, they started to berserk. Prone to starvation, disease, and abuse, And their bodies and minds were left to bruise.

But through it all, they found the strength,

To bear their pain at any length. Their resilience and courage were on display, Even during the darkest of days.

Some were mothers, Some were wives, Some were sisters, Some were daughters, All were human, all deserving, Of a better life.

For the Women of the Holocaust, We remember and honor your pain, Your love and spirits never end, And though your experiences during this time were traumatic, Your memory will forever be remembered and loved.

Reflection

My poem tries to honor the loving memory of the women who were victims of the Holocaust, recognizing the courage and resilience that they displayed. It highlights the various roles that women played in society and emphasizes that they were all deserving of a better life. Women during this time period were treated as nothing more than mere objects and subjected to harassment, abuse, and forced labor. But despite the horrors that they faced, they found the strength to endure and display courage. They stood strong and showed resilience in the face of unimaginable challenges and horrors, showing that they were capable of overcoming even the most difficult of circumstances. Their love and spirit never end, and their memory continues to be honored and remembered even today.

Scared’

by Cleo Gikas

I’m scared that every day might be my last I’m scared that every day I am losing my sense of identity I’m scared that day by day the chances of seeing my husband and son decrease

I’m scaredTrapped, dehumanized, abused This is no life I deserve, but I must fight through… I need to get out of this sadistic reality And stop facing this unnecessary brutality

So I ran

I ran as fast as I could, till my vision blurred from the overwhelming amount of tears, intrusive thoughts, and cold shivers that ran down my body I was desperate to escape, to resume my previous life The urgency grew, and my heart rate increased Till my legs stopped working and I frozeI felt paralyzed

How can one that had nothing, lose in this apparent fight for justice?

Did I deserve this after all?

I closed my eyes for an instant And that instant was gone, yet all I saw was still black I’m scared.

Reflection

Throughout my poem “I’m scared”, a series of stylistic devices such as repetition, aposiopesis, and ellipsis have been utilized to convey the traumatizing living conditions and mental states women in the Holocaust experienced. The repetition of the words “I’m scared”, “every”, and “day”, in the first stanza, communicate the vivid fear the mother is facing in the extermination camp, while also emphasizing how prevalent her intrusive thoughts are. Furthermore, there are instances of aposiopesis after the phrase “I’m scared”, to show how frightened she is of expressing herself due to the heavy suppression of peoples’ emotions and thoughts at the time. Before narrating her attempted escape, there is a transition to the verbs “trapped, dehumanized, abused”, where the asyndeton and tripling amplify the horrific circumstances millions of people were experiencing at the camps. Subsequently, the rhyme in the words “reality” and “brutality” intensifies her motivation to get through these traumatizing life circumstances, resume her past life with her family, and fulfil her intention to escape. Despite the motivation the mother has, the next stanzas are frightening narratives regarding her attempted escape, portraying how her body is occasionally weak and cannot handle the rapid movement she is in need of. For instance, aposiopesis is used in the third stanza, in the line, “Till my legs stopped working and I froze” to illustrate the pause and panic she feels once she realizes that there is a chance she will not make it. The poem proceeds with two rhetorical questions implying how helpless and doubtful she feels, provoking the audience to imagine being in her frantic position. The rationale behind my poem was to lyrically portray the immense and unfathomable trauma and struggle of women in the Holocaust, making the most of the knowledge I have acquired in my English classes with regards to unpacking the various layers and nuances of language, and appreciating the numerous ways in which language can construct meaning and have an impact on an audience.