i
reasons to die:
jewish, intellectual, queer
refuses to bow to authority.
whoever’s calling the shots,
i’m a goner
ii
forget forced marches:
my lame leg
would get me shot
within forty paces
iii
news from siberia:
the latvians report
stomach bugs, long queues,
one portable wooden bucket
and no toilet paper
in four years.
iv
forgive the cramped writing:
bark is hard enough;
ink ran out last year
and since my glasses broke
my nose is millimetres
from the text. It is
as close to you as I can get.
v
i don’t want to think
about the special treatment
I’d get as a girl:
long legs that open
when pushed. I’m not
exactly strong.
vi
then there’s the lungs:
my weak pair weren’t made
for breathing air this foul.
They seize up. I’m allergic to
wood mould. No joke.
vii
say i survived:
who’s left
that I loved?
all are broken.
me too.