BLACK MILK: A LAMENT OF GERMANY

BLACK MILK: A LAMENT OF GERMANY

for Karl (black) 1924-1952,

for Paul (yellow) 1924-1976,

for Herbert (pink) 1924-2000;

three victims of the holocaust

black milk of your mourning

you drank in your evenings

to nourish you mid-day and morning and early

you drank and you drank

as you shoveled and dug

out a grave in the clouds

where you lie unpinched

Your ashen hair     yellow star as you dug

your own grave in the clouds

for your elbow room

black milk of the morning

you drank it nights

you drank it morning and mid-day and even

you drank and you drank

Your ashen hair     triangle pink as you dug

out a grave in the clouds

where you lie unpinched

my uncle in the house

played with your snakes

and wrote when it darkened

to Germany     your golden hair Herbert

and wrote it and stepped out

to whistle for his dogs

to whistle for his queers dig

out a grave in the earth

and whistled faggots, dance!

he cried dig deeper sing and play

and wielded the whip as his eyes were blue

dig deeper sing and play for me dance

my uncle in the house

played with your queues

play sweeter the death song

death is a master from Germany

who cries more softly your music

you’ll rise as the smoke to the clouds

of your grave

where you’ll lie unpinched

but writes in the house

your golden hair Herbie

he shouts his dogs upon you

and grants you a grave in the air

a grave in the smoke and the clouds

plays with the queues and writes

your golden hair Herbert

plays with the snakes and dreams

of a day without fear

your golden hair

but drafts in his fear

and plays in their hate

on his hate of their fear

and his fear of their hate

black uniformed in the morning

he slips up one morning

at the gate of the camp

at the head of the queue

where he screams recognition:

your golden hair, Herbert!

your golden hair

your ashen hair!

Copyright © 2003, K’lakokum

This is the introductory poem for an as yet unpublished novel about three Fryslan lads that meet as participating sopranos at a community glee club.  They reach puberty together.  They share a sexual orientation and a love for music – everything else tries to tear them apart.  Three gay lads – one a Jew, one a Nazi, one a murderer...