Something's Been Haunting Me

I was recently introduced to a collection of poetry written by children held at the concentration camp Terezin in Czechoslovakia during WWII. The poetry was written in secret and was stuffed away, buried, hidden and later recovered after the camp was liberated. Of the 15,000 children who passed through Terezin, only about 100 lived. The poetry is touching, poignant, and terrible all at the same time. If I had read these before having a child, I would not have felt the depth of just how deeply tragic the poems are.

I found this photo of Jews coming off the trains to Auschwitz. I can't help looking at the woman in the bottom right hand corner carrying the baby. Can you imagine what she was about to go through?

I wonder why I am so lucky to be able to live so happily with my baby. He doesn't have to go without, there is no fear of him being taken from me, we even get to live in our beautiful house and enjoy each others company all day. I can't get this question out of my head: why am I so lucky?

Here's one of the childrens' poems from the collection "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" which is available from the library if anyone is interested in reading it.

A little garden
Fragrant and full of roses.
The path is narrow
And a little boy walks along it.

A little boy, a sweet boy,
Like that growing blossom.
When the blossom comes to bloom,
The little boy will be no more.

I think it is so important that these poems be read and am thankful I found them. They are the voices of children in a situation that no one should ever have to be in. They make me feel so much gratitude for my life, my son, my husband, my friends, and all the abundance that surrounds me.

I hope somehow those children know that they are remembered and mourned.