Sylvia Ashby
Languages
At my death bed I see you there,
kind mailman, considerate stranger,
wiping my brow, smoothing my cover,
watching, waiting, bringing me water.
Holding my hand, you study the wall
or nod to nurses who pass in the hall.
Now you are speaking, in a whisper--
What is that language? So familiar.
I listen once more, though still not sure:
Why is it I know. . .barely a word?
One, Miriam Novick
"1,250,000 words were spoken at the trial, but six million died. One word should have been said for each person."
--Parade, Oct. 29, 1961
One, Miriam Novick,
Israeli librarian,
learned about words
in a ghetto in Poland;
her plea for those
once alive and innocent,
speaks to us in words
from a Sunday supplement:
They called it a trial
but meant instead
a needed memorial
for six million dead,
an anguished Kaddish
they had to make
for themselves, and
for the dead's own sake.
As for Eichmann,
so put him to an end;
hope for consolation,
any, in revenge.
And justice? We know
that word--justice--
have yet to learn
an equal to this.
Still, what else
have we to give,
helpless to make
dead Jews live
but words?
We understand your excuse
for words: speechless
with only words to use.
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| Candy Chang: Meant as a singular experiment, the Before I Die project gained global attention and thanks to passionate people around the world, over 500 Before I Die walls have been created in over 70 countries, including Kazakhstan, Iraq, Haiti, China, Ukraine, Portugal, Japan, Denmark, Argentina, and South Africa.
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