"I Cannot Forget" by Alexander Kimel

I   C A N N O T   F O R G E T

THE ACTION IN THE GHETTO OF ROHATYN, MARCH 1942.
        by Alexander Kimel- Holocaust Survivor.

     Do I want to remember?
The peaceful ghetto, before the raid:
     Children shaking like leaves in the wind.
Mothers searching for a piece of bread.
     Shadows, on swollen legs, moving with fear.
No, I don't want to remember, but how can I forget?

     Do I want to remember, the creation of hell?
The shouts of the Raiders, enjoying the hunt.
     Cries of the wounded, begging for life.
Faces of mothers carved with pain.
     Hiding Children, dripping with fear.
No, I don't want to remember, but how can I forget?

     Do I want to remember, my fearful return?
Families vanished in the midst of the day.
     The mass grave steaming with vapor of blood.
Mothers searching for children in vain.
     The pain of the ghetto, cuts like a knife.
No, I don't want to remember, but how can I forget?

     Do I want to remember, the wailing of the night?
The doors kicked ajar, ripped feathers floating the air.
     The night scented with snow-melting blood.
While the compassionate moon, is showing the way.
     For the faceless shadows, searching for kin.
No, I don't want to remember, but I cannot forget.

     Do I want to remember this world upside down?
Where the departed are blessed with an instant death.
     While the living condemned to a short wretched life,
And a long tortuous journey into unnamed place,
     Converting Living Souls, into ashes and gas.
No.  I Have to Remember and Never Let You Forget.

               Alexander Kimel was a poet and Holocaust survivor. His poems included works on the atrocities committed in the death camps as well as inspirational poems portraying his belief in mankind regardless of the horrid acts they commit. Whether his poems are uplifting or full of despair, they all reflect his need ensure the unspeakable acts committed during the Holocaust are not forgotten.

               In his poem, "I Cannot Forget", Alexander Kimel speaks of the raids that occurred in Ghetto of Rohatyn. In this poem, Kimel begs the question, “Do I want to remember?” The poem, as a whole, addresses the peace before a Nazi raid, the panic as it begins, the fear as it intensifies, the pain of lives lost, and the difficult acceptance that death may be better than living. The opening line of each stanza begins with “Do I want to remember . . . . . . ,” and ends these stanza’s with, “No, I don’t want to remember, but I cannot forget,” repeatedly asking himself the same question. This indicates a personal conflict within. Kimel is struggling with the desire to forget these years of fear, hunger, and pain. Yet he knows he cannot.

               In the beginning of the poem, Kimel speaks of the peace within the ghetto prior to the raid, and the reader is left with a sense of calm within themselves. However, as the poem progresses, and starts speaking of the panic, fear, and death within the raid, the level of emotion becomes stronger as well, leaving the reader with a real sense of the danger experienced by those living in the ghetto. As Kimel speaks of doors being kicked in, feathers flying, and mothers searching in vain for lost children, he paints scenes easily imagined by the reader with the use of a few simple words that spare no detail. Even at the end, with the realization that death is a blessing, the simplicity of his lines do not distract from the magnitude of that realization.

               In the last two stanza’s Kimel asks how he can forget, finally ending with the statement, “No. I Have to Remember and Never Let You Forget.” In this line, unlike the previous ones, almost every word is capitalized. This sets this line apart from the rest, showing its importance. Here, Kimel has resolved the conflict within himself. Throughout the poem, the reader watched his debate within, seeing the conflict come to life. Now, Kimel realizes, and accepts that, as a Holocaust survivor, he now bears the burden of remembering this event to ensure the world never forgets.

Works Cited

Kimel, Alexander. "I Cannot Forget." March 1942. Holocaust Understand & Prevention. Web.

            May 7, 2011 http://www.kimel.net/poetry.html