I did not believe in death

I could not understand - could not agree

struggling with it till the end

this was in my mind a mystery

a terrible puzzle

wanting to run away from it

but the thought was there

in time of danger

in horrific speculations

in the eyes of changed frightened pale people -

in the beginning I did not know cemeteries

they frightened me too

later I got to know chimneys of crematoria

I spend an eteernity in a place

where there was more death than life

and I persisted in hope struggling

- the killing in Auschwitz is over

death does not reign anymore

but it exists

it has the same unusual powers as always

covered by secret superstitions

all sorts of customs

it absorbs casting shadows on everything

at all times

- today I think how silly running away is

be scared

(I was already among the killed and the burnt)

I accompany the deceased to the cemetery

it is not threatening

trees grow greenery and silence

people open up near a grave

understand the incomprehensible loving

but as long as life pulsates in me with a strong rythm

I like to forget about death

at least in writing