A Condemned Generation
By Nani Wachhaus
When you have a Yiddish grandmother there's
a sense of cold. Of frost on the window and
ice on the ground. Skin cracks as chill sets in. Walking
away from the warmth of walls and into the
cold air. Cheeks turn red and lips fade into blue. Fingers
swollen and toes turning black. Fog from open, hungry
mouths in the air. Keep the song inside.
When you have a Yiddish grandmother there's
no doubt of a less pleasant life. The walk was hard, the beds
even harder. Sleep sets into bones and sits beside
the cold. Yellow stars fall from on high and litter sleeves. Here's the new
uniform, wear it well, even if it doesn't fit. Here's a number, hand over a
name. Humanity is a stolen luxury. Keep singing. There's unity
in small rebellions.
When you have a Yiddish grandmother it's
accepted that the old must pass before the new. A desert that
no one's been to, but 40 years of feet have crossed. Heat
flares through soles, sand-caked nostrils, and
over cracked lips. There's always a punishment for golden shapes. The
march is the same. Cold and hot are the same
inescapable gnaw. Be thankful the song is steady.
When you have a Yiddish grandmother there's
no mistaking the song. No mistaking the march. It's felt in
the toughness of feet and in the pounding of a heart
filled with chilling hatred and sweltering fear. No mistaking
the strength that it took to outlive everyone
else. No mistaking that the Tree of Life sprouts from the bodies
reaped in the harvest.
Nani Wachhaus is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is from Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, but has recently moved to Baltimore, Maryland. As all of her friends and relatives know, Nani has to restrain herself from forcefully recommending The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, to those around her. Nani is the winner of a Silver Medal from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and was published in the 2014 edition of The Interlochen Review. Nani is currently co-Editor-in-Chief for The Interlochen Review. She will attend the University of Maryland Baltimore County in the fall.