Return to My Home Page or Index of Poets

And now for two poems from JIM BENNETT.

In fact Jim does not qualify for inclusion here as he hardly conforms to the criteria set out in our introduction on page 1. The truth is that he is a highly respected published poet with many competition successes under his belt on both sides of the Atlantic. Nevertheless we are happy to have him with us -lucky Jim!  Both these poems have been published elsewhere.

Poem No 15 Testament 6 million Jews died in Europe A number, just a number. So many Jews, And just as many Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Other Christians who resisted, People judged morally, mentally or socially deficient Communists and homosexuals. Too many to count. In Birkenau a family called Reich A father, mother two daughters died, (their grand mother died elsewhere Gassed, naked, waiting for a shower) The father was  fortunate he died the first day The mother and daughters tried to live Did all they could to survive but all that remains are their names clawed into plaster in a camp bordello An attempt to leave a mark on the world Something more permanent than themselves On a transport train from Italy to Auschwitz A mother, just a girl, makes space To feed and change her baby Cuddles her, kisses her, makes her laugh Takes care of her The next day they die in Auschwitz The baby convulsing in her mothers arms The mother screaming for mercy Before she drops to the floor. still holding tight her baby, Just  two in twelve million making up a number More permanent than themselves   In a wood near Buchwald There is an area where no trees grow The bones that mound the earth Tie up the roots When first found there were bits of paper Caught up in the undergrowth and bushes Tiny scraps of paper recording scraps of lives Pert Davich 4/10/43 God Be with Us all this day Marta Heriod, Budapest, Please let my family know David Whorst - God forgive me They wrote their names and testaments On scraps of paper which lie like Snow on the landscape of history In fields, near dead, gassed On lorry exhaust fumes Throats cut, shot, or gutted They bled into the earth Mud mixed with blood Congealed to scabs With the passing of winter They gave something of themselves to The future. Where green meadows bloom in summer Enriched with their blood A landscape, beaten into life More permanent than themselves. 6 million Jews died in Europe A number, just a number. So many Jews, And just as many Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Other Christians who resisted, People judged morally, mentally or socially deficient Communists and homosexuals. Too many to count It all becomes too much like A mathematical exercise, Count the shoes, Count the glasses, Count the suitcases, Count the lists. Count the scraps of paper Count the years stolen from their lives Record it all for the future For a history More permanent than ourselves This is a link to Jim Bennett's website

Poem No 16 Living together we wallow in our misery and share contempt as years drift past like petals falling from a dying flower and we wither like dry leaves creased with angry lines we waste ourselves deposit promises raise hopes and dreams like rain evaporate when death calls there will be nothing left to take and nothing left behind and we will vanish like stains on each others memory

Return to My Home Page or Index of Poets

Now for two poems from ERNEST DEWHURST .    Ernest was a journalist for 21 years.   Now  retired he lives in rural Lancashire - the county of his birth, where a farm childhood in the Pennines grew into a lifelong love of the countryside.  These poems are taken from his two published collections, 'A Hint of Hedgerows' and 'Lantern in the Lane'.  Ernest has broadcast his poems over  BBC local radio and is a member of The Inklings.

Return to My Home Page or Index of Poets

Two poems follow from 'Journey into a Landscape' - a collection of poems by 

FAY EAGLE from Birkenhead.  Fay is a member of The Inklings, has been successful in various competitions and her poems have been read on BBC Radio North West.