Silent Witness by Joanne Jagoda
Silent Witness by Joanne Jagoda Sometimes when glorious spring arrives, teeming with pink blossoms and frisky daffodils, I think of her, my Oma, my namesake, my sweet grandmother. Her name inscribed on the transport list from Theresienstadt, of May 15, 1944, duly noted by those efficient record keepers. The camp thinned so the Danish Red Cross could admire the newly beautified grounds, see happy prisoners at their “model “camp with plenty of space for recreation and cultural activities. Burgeoning spring in its guileless innocence must have born silent witness as the cattle trains lurched through the Polish countryside to Auschwitz, their destination in hell. Was the chorale of larks silenced? I’m sure they were. Did the ducks and geese stand by in shame? I know they did. Did the yellow crocus and golden marigolds weep? Yes, bitter tears. But there were no tearful good byes remaining for my grandmother. My grandfather already gone, struck down by typhus. Torn from her five sons and one grandchild before she was deported, her heart rent as she bid them each farewell as they left Germany, knowing she might never see them again yet so grateful they managed to get out in time. Her fervent hopes and dreams for them perhaps lent her solace, as that death train rattled along. On arrival, they were greeted by wraiths in stripes playing dissonant melodies on violins. The welcome sign, Arbeit Macht Frei. mocked in all its cruel irony. But they had no use for a fifty-seven year old woman, considered elderly. She never got to hold me on her lap, sing me lullabies or see me and my beloved stand under the wedding canopy. They marched her straight away to the gas showers. In her final moments, would that she could have foreseen the future, her dozens of beautiful, talented, progeny, beckoning like glittering galaxies welcoming her to heaven.
Hear Joanne Jagoda recite the poem on the Viewless Wings Poetry Podcast:
After she retired, it took just one inspiring writing workshop to launch Joanne Jagoda of Oakland California on an unexpected creative writing trajectory. Her prize-winning poetry, creative non- fiction and short stories appear on-line and in more than sixty print anthologies including The Write Launch, Burningword Literary Journal, various Pure Slush publications, Snapdragon, Passager, Viewless Wings, Persimmon Tree Magazine, Better After 50, and Dreamers Magazine. She has received two Pushcart nominations, one recently, and first place in the Gemini Open poetry competition in 2022. Joanne’s book, My Runaway Hourglass, was published in summer of 2020 during the pandemic (Poetica Publications, joannejagoda.com). Creative writing helped her get through her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Joanne continues taking poetry workshops and has taken a number of courses with the Writer’s Studio. She has also worked with several notable Bay Area poets. Joanne enjoys spoiling her seven grandchildren whenever she gets the chance.
