Kristallnacht

This is a work in progress, so I’m not really counting it as a post. It is meant to be an epic poem about the holocaust and will eventually be set up as an immersive multimedia performance art experience. It is being posted here and will be edited over and over again, with many more parts being added. The third piece that is on here now, will be moved further back in the composition. I need to lose myself into the period for a few days, for inspiration. I’d like you to be able to view the creative process with me. The first poem was written many years ago, but lost to the vagaries of time. It is reconstructed here (the only four lines that I can remember; the first and last two), but the original was much more powerful and moving. You’ll also notice that the writing style differs from the other writing styles you have seen, so far. I blame it all on the voices. No, not really, but sometimes they have some really cool ideas. No, not really. The best way that I can describe my mind is for you to envision galaxies colliding. It never stops. Ever. As always, comments, criticism and insults are always welcomed. If you like it, please let me know. If you hate it, let me know that, too. Thanks. – Steve

New - 


I Saviour (change title - using this one for another sequence)

II Kristallnacht

You ask me, child, if I remember
I remember, I remember, I remember
Hobnails on the cobblestones
And the strutting marionettes
Torches in the night
Shattered glass
Spilled across the sidewalks like stars across the sky
A million points of light
Shouted commands and muted whimpers of fear
Beatings and blood
A mitzvah for the host, this brutal, ritual bath
Running, screaming, shots in the night
Tears and horrible, inhuman laughter
Boots on the stairs and a pounding at the door
Hide the children!
The wood cracks, splinters and breaks apart
“Raus, raus!”
Too late! Too late!
Too soon, our voices join this choir of the damned
And the world burned around us
Collapsing in upon me
And those who speak no more.
You ask me, child, if I remember
How could I ever forget?


III Six Points of Yellow

A star of yellow cloth
A patch upon my clothing
A stain upon my soul
They hunt, they come in packs
Wolves, they are
They strike without warning
“Juden,” they call
“Halt,” they command
They descend upon you
They feed their madness
Sometimes, they hurl words
The easier pain to bear
But most times those words are weighted
With fists, brick and stone
“Am I not one of you,” I cry
They laugh, “You are nothing like us.”
The blows rain down
No, I am nothing like them
I have become nothing
Perhaps something less

IV The Vanishing

V Boxcar

The baby never stops crying
A sardine has more room
And smells so much better
The press allows for no movement
The baby never stops crying
I don’t know how many days have passed
The baby never stops crying
I am thirsty, there is no water
I am hungry, there is no food
I have soiled myself, there is no shame
Just the endless standing
The baby never stops crying
Did I fall asleep? Am I still awake?
Please, let it be a dream
The baby grows quiet; she will cry no more
The grandfather next to me is the next to go
And still he stands
Lord, help us. God of my fathers, hear our pleas
How many more?
The endless miles clack by
We are less than cattle

VI The Arrival

VII Savior (change title?)

"God will help us," we cried
"God will protect us," we prayed
Surely, God would not abandon us

As I watched as my wife and children being led away
I knew there would be no savior
God would do nothing

He has abandoned us
And I have abandoned him

VIII Arbeit Macht Frei

IX Angels of Mercy, Angels of Death

X Garden of Stones

Contemplate if you will
Depthless silence that envelopes you
Much like a greatcoat
Sullen and black as pitch
Like the ash that drifts upon the wind

I tread softly through the mourning mist
To tend this garden of stones
I hear the echo of whispers and soft, ancient wind songs
Songs... and memories; a bitter requiem for the spirits
A prayer that dies and lay unspoken

The killing fields grow strong and vibrant
Serene, yet deathly still
Over far horizon, so endless and emerald green
Sustained by the tears of children that never blossomed
And the long dead flesh of man

I have come to seek your spirit
I have come to ease my soul
And for a moment much too brief
I feel your presence that slips through the mist
Here... in this garden of stones

Did I rouse you from your dreams of eternal night?

XI Kaddish

English translation follows.

Yitgadal v'yitkadash sh'mei raba.

B'alma di v'ra chirutei,
v'yamlich malchutei,
b'chayeichon uv'yomeichon
uv'chayei d'chol beit Yisrael,
baagala uviz'man kariv. V'im'ru: Amen.
Y'hei sh'mei raba m'varach
l'alam ul'almei almaya.
Yitbarach v'yishtabach v'yitpaar
v'yitromam v'yitnasei,
v'yit'hadar v'yitaleh v'yit'halal
sh'mei d'kud'sha b'rich hu,
l'eila min kol birchata v'shirata,
tushb'chata v'nechemata,
daamiran b'alma. V'imru: Amen.
Y'hei sh'lama raba min sh'maya,
v'chayim aleinu v'al kol Yisrael.
V'imru: Amen.
Oseh shalom bimromav,
Hu yaaseh shalom aleinu,
v'al kol Yisrael. V'imru: Amen.

Exalted and hallowed be God's great name
in the world which God created, according to plan.
May God's majesty be revealed in the days of our lifetime
and the life of all Israel -- speedily, imminently, to which we say Amen.
Blessed be God's great name to all eternity.
Blessed, praised, honored, exalted, extolled, glorified, adored, and lauded
be the name of the Holy Blessed One, beyond all earthly words and songs of blessing,
praise, and comfort. To which we say Amen.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us and all Israel,
to which we say Amen.
May the One who creates harmony on high, bring peace to us and to all Israel.
To which we say Amen.