Two Poems by William Heyen

We went to work to build roads—Kapos and SS men
supervised us. There was one Jew from our town,

tall and strong, from a rich family. The Kapo spotted
gold teeth and said give them to me.

The man answered he could not, but the Kapo again said
give them to me, but the man still said he could

not give up his gold teeth. The Kapo took
a shovel and hit him over the head until

the tall man fell down. The Kapo turned him over
and put the shovel at his throat and stood on it.

He broke the man’s neck and used the shovel to get
the teeth out of his mouth. Another Jew asked

how you could do this. The Kapo killed him the same way.
He warned us don’t ask questions, mind your own business.

That evening we carried twelve bodies back to barracks.
He killed them just for fun. This happened the first day.

The Honeymooner Witnesses Say Goodbye To The City

He:   Goodbye to the dead guy bobbing in the river.

She: Goodbye to the guy who stole the wallet from the dead guy
        bobbing in the river …

He:   [He knows he’s pushing it but can’t help himself:]

        Goodbye to the guy who hit the guy over the head
        with a pipe who stole the wallet
            from the dead guy bobbing in the river …

Together:   [They know they’re pushing it but can’t help themselves:]

        Goodbye to the guy who knifed the guy
        who hit the guy over the head with a pipe
            who stole the wallet from the dead guy
                bobbing in the river …


		William Heyen
		Otto Pressburger, 18, at Birkenau, 1942
		We went to work to build roads—Kapos and SS men supervised us. There was one Jew from our town, tall and strong, from a rich family. The Kapo spotted gold teeth and said give them to me. The man answered he could not, but the Kapo again said give them to me, but the man still said he could not give up his gold teeth. The Kapo took a shovel and hit him over the head until the tall man fell down. The Kapo turned him over and put the shovel at his throat and stood on it. He broke the man’s neck and used the shovel to get the teeth out of his mouth. Another Jew asked how you could do this. The Kapo killed him the same way. He warned us don’t ask questions, mind your own business. That evening we carried twelve bodies back to barracks. He killed them just for fun. This happened the first day. The Honeymooner Witnesses Say Goodbye To The City He: Goodbye to the dead guy bobbing in the river. She: Goodbye to the guy who stole the wallet from the dead guy bobbing in the river … He: [He knows he’s pushing it but can’t help himself:] Goodbye to the guy who hit the guy over the head with a pipe who stole the wallet from the dead guy bobbing in the river … Together: [They know they’re pushing it but can’t help themselves:] Goodbye to the guy who knifed the guy who hit the guy over the head with a pipe who stole the wallet from the dead guy bobbing in the river …
		William Heyen was born in Brooklyn in 1940, now lives in Brockport, New York. A former Senior Fulbright Lecturer in American literature in Germany, he has won fellowships from the NEA, Guggenheim Foundation, the American Academy and Institute of Arts & Letters. His work has appeared in hundreds of anthologies and magazines. He is the editor of September 11, 2001: American Writers Respond, and the author of some two dozen books of criticism, fiction, autobiography, and poetry including Crazy Horse in Stillness (winner of 1997's Small Press Book Award) and Shoah Train: Poems (a finalist for the 2004 National Book Award). His most recent book, A Poetics of Hiroshima (Etruscan Press), is a selection of the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle for 2010.
		© William Heyen All Rights Reserved