I come as penitent
on this day
so stained in sepia,
and not in evergreen;
the monochrome drowning out
the sanguinary colours
in my mind.
Down a winter's road of
mud and dirty snow
and barren trees
I come as Scarecrow
and not as Magi.
I am come as Scarecrow Shepherd
whose flock was butchered and undone
on that Volga altar of
madmen’s egos.
As Scarecrow Survivor,
emaciate, loose-limbed,
dressed in rags and rotting
boots
I walk this weed-choked
and overgrown village street
and behold the memorial
from the Great War
cracked, up thrust by winters,
a useless place of winter-blown
refuse and debris,
ironic metaphor for Nativity.
And here I now awake into life
from captivity,
but so broken and confused,
wrenched bewildered as from a coma,
distrustful of my motivations,
seeking penance and reconciliation,
for still my sense of guilt remains,
unpurged by servitude in the Rodina.
And I hear again
that one last command:
- Bataillon! Stillgestanden! –
and a thousand jackbooted heels -
and feet wrapped in straw and rags,
or bare and frozen -
prepare their death-march.
- Augen gerade aus! –
And I see now
that I am surrounded by a ghost battalion
of my peers, each accusing all
by that hellish oath
that had become a curse unspeakable,
and bound us to his evil fully incarnate –
and we became anti-Christ,
in that we did not stand
upon our beliefs that yuletide,
but yielded complicit to monstrosity.
And now,
on being released,
curse the living silence there,
then leave the cattle car
and crying 'sola fide'
walk this long road home.
Author notes
Sagts du wo die Graben sind; Tell me where have all the graveyards gone? From the song, Where have all the flowers gone?, by Pete Seeger.
“Bataillon! Stillgestanden!” – Battalion Attention! and “Augen gerade aus!” – Eyes front! German military commands.
Rodina: Russia
Sola Fide: “By Faith Alone”, slogan of the Lutheran Reformation
A contest entry
- The Stalingrad Madonna, words of St.John: light, life, and love by awannabepoet.
2750 points, ended August 22, 13 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 10 of 10
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Stunning Poetry
Your words bring back the cold stark reality of that war. How cruel mankind can be to each other. I wonder if there shall ever be peace on Earth as long as two people remain on Earth. Such a sad commentary.
Thank you for this wonderful poem. The imagery within your story well deserves the GOLD! Congratulations on this excellent write. Take care, Sandy
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this is truly awesome hun
you have penned a true write
very touching and from the heart
Hugs Angel♥
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Reading this write out loud, made my voice break and tears flow. A dramatic on the scene look with the voices shouting, "dressed in rags and rotting boots", anguish overtook me, as my aged mother listened remembering those days only it was the war with Japan in the second world war she had me recall. My dad was a gunner on Canada's west coast (later a Japanese speaking translator)
Recalls of as a child seeing the ovens of Aushwitz came to mind..and the frozen dead on the steppes of Russia during the second world war.
Between the descriptive imagery and your use of the language of the German soldiers...you have taken us back in time and taken us there, planted in the midst of the horrors of this war....
Your work on this penning is masterful, creative and so commendable.. Very well done, poet!
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The tragedy of war is not only the wasted lives, the utter destruction of towns and cities, but the destruction of the minds of so many who participated in the conflicts. As said in the previous comment, you write as if you lived through it.
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Thanks Bob.
As the saying goes: "A mind is a terrible thing to waste!" The damage to peoples' psyches is greater than any material damage could ever be. We pay for wars in the spirits of people for generations.
JG
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I can't find proper words to pay this writing justice, you write as if you lived it. Your words are somber, as we can feel our hearts twist with mercy for human beings that hold these memories as true happenings.
How can we ever find forgiveness for our failings.
This is an astounding poem.
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G'Day Bad Granny,
Thank you for your comments. I guess I remind myself that even our enemies have families, and that all men are sinners. You ask,"How can we ever find forgiveness for our failings". Well, while we were still his enemies, Christ died for us, so I guess I can extend forgiveness, internally and externally.
JG
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How sad
I like the imagery from the lines in the 3rd stanza. Stark words painting a stark picture. It reminds us how the powerless feel under the heel of authoritarianism and mindless hatred of others
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I am blinded by tears as memory takes me back to those soul destroying pictures I saw so many years ago. what can I say, man's inhumanity to man is simply unbelievable, yet it still happens.
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This literally brought tears to my eyes. I'm not sure I can comment further. Thank you for writing this, and bringing the era alive for the rest of us. Lita
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