pieces of — NIIGHT by Elie Wiesel —

A cut-up poem

Kyngtrampstamp.

Before he told us, “Don’t worry. I’ll warn you if there is danger.”

A pause. He was observing the effects his words had produced.

The silence became more oppressive: There was little air.

A prolonged whistle pierced the air.

That was when we began to hear. “Annihilate so many millions of people?”

Yes, we even doubted his resolve to exterminate us. Of course we had heard of fascists in the abstract. Nothing more than a change of ministry:

-They never demanded the impossible

-Made no offensive remarks

-And some times even smiled

Finally, people talked, “Get up? How could I? How was I to leave this warm blanket?”

Two gestapo officers were all smiles. That was when we began to hear. A prolonged whistle pierced the air. The wheels began to grind. We were on our way.

Little by little life returned to “normal”.