Lodz by Sujata Bhatt

Łódź

I hesitate to say
what I think:
'This cemetery is beautiful' –
this cemetery that was
once in the heart of the ghetto –

But it was there before
the ghetto – and it is still
being used today.
The earth
is trying to heal itself –
I am reluctant to leave –
The silence between the dead –
The silence between the wild flowers
and the sky – the silence that pulls me
deeper into my own being
is what keeps me
standing here looking for another
path I could walk down –
It is May and the green
shadows falling across the stones
make me think
that if I lived in this town
I would visit
this place every day –
It is May but I tell myself
that if I lived in this town
I would walk here even
during the darkest days of November
and December –

..... Sujata Bhatt