Belsen Poem by Martin O'Neill

Belsen

Rating: 5.0


Silence between the mounds
No sound from within
Lives. Childhood games,
Love and laughter
Tears and regrets
Victories and defeats from
Long ago.
Silence.
Witnessed in stone
One word, one number
Repeated
And repeated
And repeated
5000 TOTE
Birds don't sing here
No-one sings here
Anymore.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Ruth Walters 10 March 2012

So profound and yet there is so much more....that will never be said

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Cynthia Buhain-baello 19 February 2012

Eerie, cutting and graphic poem. The scene so vivid in the reader's mind.

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Kipper Stagg 14 February 2012

It never fails to amaze me as to what depths man can sink to, the horrors of what are capable of And yet the great love we can display often offsets one another. It warms my heart to see that people such as you can still remember the past and put it so beautifully into verse. Keep up this poignant work and help others see the errors of their way! Many thanks!

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John Raubenheimer 11 February 2012

Although it is more than 40 years since I visited Auschwitz with my friend Mike Gluckman, I remember the crows on every rooftop - all silent. A powerful poem.

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Patti Masterman 09 February 2012

I could swear I commented on this one before, but maybe- it was just in my mind, and the result was silence- the complete silence of a poem that speaks in terrible years but makes no sound doing it- in complete silence a whole people can disappear completely from the earth, except for their footsteps..great job here.

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Martin O'Neill

Martin O'Neill

Solihull, Birmingham, England
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