The Inadequacy of Language and the Insufficiency of Silence
Caught between
the inadequacy of language
and the insufficiency of silence
I read book after book
see film after film
about the Holocaust
.
you can choke on depictions
and explanations
the montages of death
the tabulations of cruelty
the accountings of numbness
the statistics of horror
the naming of the unnamable
you can strip yourself naked
and steal the tattoos of the dead
cry as they cried
all you’ve done is bleed falsely
.
still you’re left with the words
and the wordlessness
and the need for a sound or a gesture
of defiance
or deference
God must get impatient
with your presentation
.
next time God can have the top bunk
you really don’t care where you sleep
as long as it’s close to remembrance.
.
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