Beneath A Cherry Tree Poem by Gert Strydom

Beneath A Cherry Tree



Beneath a cherry tree
a German officer, a general of the third Reich,
dressed immaculately in black
with a skull and crossbones emblem
on his official cap,
somewhat like a pirate sign,
but more obscure
boots shining reflecting the garden
catches a young Jewish boy
(who was forced to labour in that garden)
eating some of the sweet red fruit.

His right boot shoots out
and catches the boy
just under the chin
and he kicks the slender boy down
tramples him into the ground
and keeps on kicking
while the child
tries to cover himself
against the blows
somewhat like a scared dog.

A hand covered in a black leather glove
grabs more red cherries from the tree
smashes them into the boy’s face
press them with pits and all
along with some broken teeth
down the boy’s throat,

before that devil in black
gets hold of the boy’s head
and drags him
into the tool shed
where with one hammer blow after another
he kills him
and when he lies without any life,
without any movement,
brushes off his gloves, his coat
calls to a SS-guard
with lightning flashes on his arm
to dispose of the body
and returns to his study
where the death
of thousands more Jews,
more children, women and men
awaits his signature.

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Gert Strydom

Gert Strydom

Johannesburg, South Africa
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