Field of maize, rye grass,
wild pink roses —
forty-two girls and forty boys.
Bronze statues stand in a meadow:
Eighty-two faces follow you.
Where a baroque church once stood,
bells no longer ring
at birth, at death, the joy of a wedding.
In the hours after midnight,
the village of Lidice was razed.
: Tile roof cottages with low windows.
Lace curtains, clay pot geraniums.
A survivor, Anna, remembers,
“…the reprisal for killing an SS officer.”
A black and white silent film: 1942 —
The men of the village
were shot against a barn wall
of her grandfather’s farm.
Buried in a common grave.
— The women, deported.
The children never seen again
: Jan, Jarmila, Karel, Jiri….
Photo Credit
Memorial to the children of Lidice – Wikimedia Public Domain
Published in Ilona Martonfi’s poetry collection, Black Grass, (Broken Rules Press, 2012)
Guest Author Bio
Ilona Martonfi
Ilona Martonfi Author of two poetry books, Blue Poppy, (Coracle Press, 2009.) Black Grass, (Broken Rules Press 2012). Published in Vallum, Accenti, The Fiddlehead, Serai. Founder/producer of The Yellow Door and Visual Arts Centre Readings, co-founder of Lovers and Others. QWF 2010 Community Award.
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