Barbara Grocholska – Kurkowiak “And We Did Not Perish”
And we did not die
struck
neither by a stray bullet
that brushed past us
for reasons unknown
just us
and what were we to do
with the life given
August two thousand and one
with an honor guard
by the split boulder
and candles
we stand in a minute of silence
we hardly resemble
the boys and girls
of those days
only photographs remember
what we looked like
attention
I know the spark
that raises the head of an old woman
straightening a limping gentleman
it lives inside
buried by everyday life
hidden by a dark curtain
it awakens on anniversaries
like a spur urging a horse
“hey boys, bayonet on the gun”
kamikaze
and – POLAND POLAND
(just like today – Vistula Vistula)
we stand opposite the young
stretched
in dress uniforms
but we, the hunched ones
know
*
then I was behind glass
as if I didn’t know tears
today I tremble
so that never again