Reviews from

Her Blue Tattoo

Concentration camps in my head.

21 total reviews 
Comment from Sandra du Plessis
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

A very well-written poem about the hatred and greed of the human race that not only destroy themselves but also everyone around them and it does not benefit anyone.

 Comment Written 08-Sep-2019


reply by the author on 09-Sep-2019
    Thanks Sandra. I appreciate your review.
Comment from Diana L Crawford
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

This is such a moving and emotional tribute to all who suffered at the hand of a society blinded by the sweet talk of a mad man. I believe it is the greatest event of all human atrocities that has ever been. And we should all never ever forget least we repeat this horrid crime against humanity again. Well done my friend!

 Comment Written 08-Sep-2019


reply by the author on 09-Sep-2019
    Thanks for this brilliant review, Diana. I think writers have a duty to keep history to the fore - so many people remain ignorant of past events and the cycle builds up again. It might not be with Zyklon-B, but some other form of genocide / 'ethnic cleansing' could be brewing.
reply by Diana L Crawford on 09-Sep-2019
    So true, that's why I did the one on the Rohingya as that is basically what is happening to them. sad....
reply by the author on 09-Sep-2019
    One of the recent reviewers said she didn't think people feared something like the concentration camps would happen again... I referred her to the Rohingya horror. So many people in the world are living in resettlement camps and refugee temporary completely inhospitable situations...where they had to flee for their lives... it seems to me they have a similar feeling of discriminatory abuse to what happened to the Jews of WW2.
reply by Diana L Crawford on 09-Sep-2019
    Well just because they didn?t push everybody into an oven and Burnham they still burn their villages and killed people beheading them cutting their limbs off so what is the difference! Taking lives in such a cruel and inhumane mean way still equals the same Crime! I truly can?t believe that there hasn?t been something done internationally about what they?ve been doing over there!
reply by the author on 09-Sep-2019
    I can't understand how the United Nations has failed as a peace-keeping entity in so many theatres of conflict.
reply by Diana L Crawford on 09-Sep-2019
    Me too! :(
Comment from Louise Michelle
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

Concentration camp survivors, as well as WWII heroes, are dying out and soon all we'll have are the history books to tell us about this era. You did a good job with this poem, Lisa. Hugs, Lou

 Comment Written 08-Sep-2019


reply by the author on 09-Sep-2019
    Thanks so much for your review. I think writers have a duty to keep history alive.
Comment from Mystic Angel 7777
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

This is beautifully penned, my friend. The imagery is quite moving and very unique throughout. It is unfortunate though, that the majority will always give in to their baser instincts simply because it is easier than doing the right thing. Well done and thank you very much for sharing it.

 Comment Written 08-Sep-2019


reply by the author on 09-Sep-2019
    Thanks so much for your understanding review. The slippery slope is waiting - some people have entirely lost their humanity.
Comment from Susan X Smith
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

This poem is well written and touching. I especially liked the last line. I have met a few survivors and it amazes me how they were able to reconstruct their lives although the inner scars must be as indelible as the tattoos.

 Comment Written 08-Sep-2019


reply by the author on 09-Sep-2019
    Your review is much appreciated. What resilience those survivors must have had, enduring such horrors.
Comment from juliaSjames
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

A brilliant and powerful poem, LisaMay. The imagery is stark, the symbols are heart wrenching. But it's your author notes that I applaud loud and long.

Well done.

It's evident that this poem poured out of you. But consider, if you will, a different role for "apathy". I don't see it as fanning the flames. Rather, as greasing that "slippery slope".

Blessings Julia

 Comment Written 08-Sep-2019


reply by the author on 08-Sep-2019
    Thanks for appreciating my poem with such a high rating.
    You are right... 'apathy' is too passive a word to fan flames. It is a contributing factor as it enables others to carry out evil, but as you say, it greases that slippery slope, so I have modified the last several lines thus:

    The cruel fire is the same,
    fanned by a hot wind of hate.
    And prejudice. And greed.

    Greased by fat-fed apathy,
    it?s all downhill on the slippery slope
    to grief?s waiting chambers of horrors.
    Fingernails scratch at the bolted door.
reply by juliaSjames on 08-Sep-2019
    Love the change. Fat fed apathy is such a vivid image. And girl, we're all guilty at times.

    Blessings Julia
Comment from RodG
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

Your poem gives us a stark picture of a survivor of the Holocaust whose blue tattoo brings back all the memories of the horrid camps and persecution she had to endure. I especially like your allusions to what the Allies found when they liberated places like Buchenwald--the piles of hair, glasses, bones and the scratches on the walls of the gas chambers. Yes, we do need to be reminded! Rod

 Comment Written 08-Sep-2019


reply by the author on 09-Sep-2019
    Thanks for reviewing, Rod. I have seen Auschwitz and Dachau and those rooms full of personal effects of the murdered Jews is chilling indeed. It really disturbs me that discrimination and prejudice are so apparent still.
reply by RodG on 09-Sep-2019
    It chills me, too, knowing there are Neo-Nazis in the world willing to do this again. Rod
Comment from Scarbrems
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

A chilling reminder. Excellent imagery throughout, but particularly here:
'Faint veins of mapped tracery
so finely freckled, once downy
with a young woman's peach-like glow.
The parchment skin of a lampshade
- tinged with tortured memories -
shines on her blue tattoo.'

children's shoes - I know people who have been to Auschwitz, and many say the piles of shoes are one of the most chilling things about the place.

Your last stanza is spot on. An excellent write.

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 Comment Written 08-Sep-2019


reply by the author on 08-Sep-2019
    Thanks very much for this excellent review. I have been to Auschwitz and Dachau... they certainly are macabre places.
Comment from Helena Frances
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

So powerful! You have encapsulated the bewildering horror and sadness of generations trying to understand how, and why humans continue their inhumanity.
Trying to improve our baser instincts is a lifelong goal.
We need to use our power for good.
Thank you for your gift of words.

 Comment Written 08-Sep-2019


reply by the author on 08-Sep-2019
    Thanks for giving my poem such a starry rating! Your comments are spot on... we are on the same wavelength.
    I will never understand why so many people harbour war-mongering feelings rather than seeing that love and cooperation are better methods for society.
reply by Helena Frances on 08-Sep-2019
    You are very welcome:)
    Let's keep shining the light:)
Comment from JudyE
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

Another powerful poem. This subject was part of last night's presentation of The Drum on ABC TV. And recently I read 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' - twice. It's terrible what people can do to their own kind.

 Comment Written 08-Sep-2019


reply by the author on 08-Sep-2019
    Thanks for the glowing review, Judy. You've had a recent full immersion in the darker side of life. Those stories are horrific, but we need to keep them to the fore... Holocaust deniers are still influential.
reply by JudyE on 08-Sep-2019
    I find it hard to credit that anyone can deny the holocaust.
reply by the author on 08-Sep-2019
    Same. How much proof do people need???