I hold in my hand,
My most prized possession.
Names...
Names which have no faces...
Names from places...
I may never go-
like faces, I will never see.
Far from my world,
Is an empire.
Made from the heartaches
of people pass.
I am-
Because of them.
Because,
In me
I carry their dreams.
I carry their destiny.
Sometimes,
as I carry their names,
I hear in the wind,
Their 'forgotten cry...'
'Don't forget us-
As time has rushed on by...'
I hold in my hand,
A name...
One who so proudly defended
His country-Only to find
death-
Waiting for him...
Hatred and bitterness.
Killers- for sure.
To not allow one
To exist for who they simply are.
I can't imagine-
just how you felt,
Walking thru....
Walking thru the 'gate'.
Knowing soon,
You'ld never know,
the sweet smell
of fresh air, and fragrant meadows...
Seeing so many others
around you-
Who would also wait,
to die...
And In my book,
Written,
Your name, Auguste, as you so like to be called...
And in my heart,
I don't understand - why? ? ?
Some people feel it -
their liberty-
To take away-
Yours and mine...
To my cousin Augustin Gasrel who perished at Auschwitz
1 Oct- 1942
Michael Phillips My sister's poem is about my father's cousin Auguste who saved his life when the boat was torpedoed during WW 2.Because he and many other French people spoke up against the Nazi occupation of France they were executed in the gas chambers.There were many more victims of the Nazis and they weren't all Jewish.The poem is a tribute poem in his honor and to the memory of many tragic losses.An aunt of ours also disappeared with out a trace.
Very beautiful tribute to a family member.It brought tears to my eyes thinking of dad and his family's loss.
It isn't just because so many of my own family perished as Augustin did, that I'm so moved by this poem. It's such a simply-stated memorial. My Mother was very fond of the saying 'To live on in the hearts of those you leave behind, is not to die.' So with Augustin.
A haunting poem, and yet oddly impersonal. We learn nothing about Augustin except his preferred nickname.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
this is a very touching piece.Well penned