#soviet-jewry — Public Fediverse posts

Dedushka, or: Saba

A ‘Garland’ Shadorma

oldest child
born in poverty
raised at a
children's home
because his parents couldn't
afford to feed him

hunger pangs
caught with potatoes
left behind
on the field
shipped off to fight the Nazis
without a weapon

at the front
fell in a meat wave
stabbed at war
through the calf
by Germans probing corpses
crawled back through the night

taught himself
how to speak Russian
for college
self-made man
became the chief engineer
at a major plant

in Vilnius
under Soviets
my Saba
a proud Yid
hired Refusenik engineers
fired for Jewish souls

gave up his
party membership
cursed the damned
Communists
for antisemitism—and
moved to Israel

oldest child
caught with potatoes
stabbed at war
self-made man
hired Refusenik engineers
moved to Israel

‘Garland’ Shadorma?

The ‘Garland’ Shadorma was created by Sylvia Cognac, modeled after the ‘Garland’ Cinquain. Essentially, it is a Shadorma series of seven stanzas, with the seventh and final stanza being composed of lines from all six previous stanzas.

Tanka Tuesday

For Tanka Tuesday, Robbie encourages us to compose syllabic poems that includes a story. My above shadorma is about my grandfather (saba).

My grandfather grew up very poor, was forced to fight the Nazis in World War II without a weapon, and was badly wounded; but he survived and taught himself Russian so he could become a top engineer in Soviet Lithuania.

Even when the government threatened him, he kept hiring Jewish engineers who were punished for applying for exit visas to Israel. In the end, he gave up his cursed the antisemitism around him, Communist Party membership, and moved with his family to Israel.

Let’s write poetry together!

When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.

–Ben Harper (b. 1969)

Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!