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Poems from the Book
“There on the Bank of the Cheremosh River”

1938 I saw Samiko in mother's arms His face to the window Illuminated by the sunset light. Suddenly A cough interrupted The serenity of the moment. His body trembled Writhing in pain. Father sent me to call the doctor He suggested I look for him at the casino. I set off The terrible coughing sound Echoing in my ears. I arrived at the casino. The gatekeeper stopped me at the threshold Refused to let me in. Finally he agreed to call the doctor. I waited in the freezing cold, before a closed door Until the doctor came out “I'm busy, little girl, I can't come.” I cried.

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I begged That he would come to save my dying brother. The doctor looked at me With a mocking look And said: Never mind, little girl, little Yid[1] Never mind. One more Yid will die, So what!

Translator's footnote:

1. Yid is used as an insulting and contemptuous term for a Jewish person. Return

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The thirtieth day At twilight We returned from the cemetery We gathered in the living room In the corner A memorial candle was lit Its flame flickered in the darkness of the room Drew scary shadows On the wall For a long hour We sat by the candlelight Immersed in our sorrow While we were still sitting A family friend entered Turned on the light And in a voice of rebuke scolded us: Are you crying?! This boy Died in your loving arms And pointing to my two little brothers Mordechl'e and Iziko He asked: Do you know What death

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Lies in wait for these two? My mother is shocked She got up from her seat Stood between him and the boys Asking to protect them And the man continued, Oh poor thing Do you know what death What death awaits you Maybe And when he said these words, He collapsed and burst into tears. He sat there for a short while and cried Then he got up And left the room. He prophesied And didn't know what he prophesied?

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That night was a sleepless night. People entered and came There was great confusion. At two after midnight They came to take Moshe. I wanted to say something to him To say goodbye But when I saw him In such a hurry I didn't know what to say. When Moses left An oppressive emptiness descended upon me. The disintegration suddenly seemed So real to me.

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At five in the morning Father was called to the concentration point We stood like this… We all cried. Suddenly Father grabbed my hand and said: Shindel'a is coming with me! For a moment I was in great distress. I ran to my mother I clung to her I refused to let go. Mother stroked my head Caressed and calmed me: Go with father, she said He knows what he's doing. She went to the cupboard Put a small bundle of clothes in my hand And pushed me forward slightly. Wagons were waiting at the concentration point. We climbed on one of them I remember Mordechl'e and Iziko Begging father to take them too And the carter curses Threatening to throw me out too If the children go up.

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We set off Mordechl'e and Iziko So sad Stood next to mother All three waved goodbye to us . A little while later We left behind us The town's last houses. Suddenly I felt That I'm torn From my childhood From the world I loved With the good and the bad in it And at once – I matured.

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At night We stopped in one of the villages. Suddenly A strange commotion Began all around Someone shouted: Jews are being slaughtered I jumped off the wagon. Before me stood a Ukrainian farmer An axe in his hand. “Jewess?” I froze in my place. “Go away from here I don't want to see you” With my last strength I ran Into the trees. The sounds of slaughter were heard Until midnight. When dawn broke I gathered courage And came out of hiding Horrific sights were revealed To my eyes.

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Corpses Crushed tendons. Shattered faces From axe blows. Trembling with fear, I searched for father and Esther.

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1944 Father came home from work, his eyes sad. He refused to eat the little I prepared, Without saying anything, he went to sleep. The next day it happened again The same also in the following days. He grew a beard wild, Sometimes I heard him cry. I saw him slowly fading before my eyes. I begged him to speak, To tell what was bothering him, But he remained silent, As if he was in another world. At night I heard him crying again. He lay, Both his hands were limp with helplessness. I sat next to him I looked at his pitiful appearance My father. My big father. So small So weak. He stroked my head. At that moment I guessed the terrible news. There is nowhere to go back.

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1942 On the morning of the seventh day of Passover The residents of the Jewish quarter in Kitov woke up In panic. Germans and Ukrainians Crazed with hatred Raided the houses And set them on fire. Many were trapped between the flames. Others, Who tried to escape from the fire Were shot to death. In our house, Three confused souls Wanted to save themselves They hid in the cellar, Behind a heavy iron door. They hoped that the iron door Would protect their lives. When the Aktion ended And the fire was extinguished, Three scorched bodies were found Embraced together. Mother, Mordechl'e and Iziko May HaShem avenge their blood Were brought for burial In a mass grave.

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A rainbow breaks on deep ash At the back of the world Kolomyia, Zabie, Horodenka At the back of the world Towns Kosow Kitov Also Vizhnitz and Vyzhenka A town grew between trains wheels Rails, rails Grew Grew a stone on itself Between trains wheels To Belzec Stanisławów froze A rainbow breaks on deep ash On a foreign plane Strange colors Tell about frenzied roads Trembling numbers The rainbow on deep ash.

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Sniatyn		Obertyn
Kosow		Gwozdiec
Delyatyn		Chortovets
Pechenezhin		Tekucha
Zablotow		Yebluniv
Kitev		Kosmach
Kuty		Vizhintz

A tombstone Slowly weaving threads of love On the snails Sleeping there.

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