“On the Other Hand” © Kelly Sauvage Moyer

 

Kristallnacht

Tell me Grandmother,
Was it anything like
The invasion of our Capitol?
Back then in 1938.
Was it like January 6, 2021?
Was it just a happy crowd?
Out to express themselves?
Did the crowd on Kristallnacht
Celebrate the damage they caused?
Did the president congratulate them?
Did he say he loved them?
Did he tell them to go home.
Did they leave anyone bleeding?
How many fled the danger?
Did children hide, trembling?
Were people trying to escape?
Tell me Grandmother, was the crowd
Celebrating their victory?
Were they invaders in the Capitol?
Who cleaned up after?
Did anyone die?
What happened after that?
Did life go on as usual?
Was the crowd forgiven?
Why is it in our history?
Who was to blame?
Were they pardoned?
Can it happen again?
Tell me Grandmother.

 

john Garmon is an 85-year-old poet at the College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas. He grew up in Texas, served a 4-year enlistment in the Marines, went to college, earned a Ph.D., served as president of Berkeley City College, and now serves in the college at Vegas. His work appeared in Oddball Magazine, Commonweal, Ploughshares, Prairie Schooner, The Oregonian, Oyster River Pages, and Southern Humanities Review.

Kelly Sauvage Moyer is an accomplished poet, photographer and fiber artist, who pursues her muse through the cobbled streets of New Orleans’s French Quarter as well as the mountains of western North Carolina. She is the author of four books, including Hushpuppy, a collection of short-form poetry, and Mother Pomegranate and Other Fairytales for Grown-Ups, both released by Nun Prophet Press. She is the editor of Failed Haiku.