In the West, it’s known as Auschwitz
In the West, it’s generally known as Auschwitz, liberated 75 years ago January 27.
One Day in Oswiecim*
(For the 75th anniversary of liberation, 1/27/2020)
I.
It hasn’t changed. The serene
green countryside reaches
toward a cloudless sky, and this
land could be your land.
II.
The oldest woman in town
trembles a bit remembering
an unsettling glow lighting
her childhood, but this
town could be your town.
III.
There’s a playground now
on the peaceful street
where ghosts were born
and legends linger, and this
street could be your street.
IV.
The women in farmhouses
and tidy village homes kept
the curtains drawn so the
children wouldn’t see, but this
home could be your home.
V.
The world comes in buses now.
Tourists stagger through history,
pausing to catch their breath,
inhaling reassurance that this
history will not be their history.
VI.
It hasn’t changed. The serene
green countryside reaches
toward a cloudless sky, and this
land may be your land.
— Kenneth Salzmann
*A small city in Poland, better known by its German name, Auschwitz.
