The Story Of Ossi Poem by Sheena Blackhall

Ossi, youngest of six, all Catholic gypsies,
Travelled around in the family caravan
Spent winters in Vienna, round the campfires

And then, the Germans came. An end to travelling.
The family forced to register, ‘Different race.’

When he was five, they took away his father.
Next, his sister Kathi. Ossi too
Was sent away, to Birkenau for gypsies.
A different type of camp…no tales, no music
Hardly a scrap to eat, apart from turnips.

Then he fell ill with typhus.
Was carted off to the camp infirmary
The antechamber of the crematoria.
At seven he died of disease and malnutrition

Children get in the way of war, which trundles
Over the backs of little people
Armies fight for various causes
The poor and weak must die for.