Out of the Dark

By Lillian Boraks-Nemetz

This collection offers a cycle of poems about the poet who, as a child survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, has had to live with the memories of the Holocaust all her life. The first section describes the evils of suffering and prejudice, of war and destruction, and the loss of loved ones, even the loss of self. “This is a ghetto / where humans live in neglected cages / within a fire that burns sleep out of their eyes.” The second section brings glimmers of light in finding ways to move towards a better, fuller life, as the poet realizes “We must always seek / new ways / of reaching one another / though each of us / is a world unto itself.” The third section offers a tribute to the artists and poets who have come before and who have left behind their gifts for us. It recognizes the connections and love within the family and the ability to live and love. “I run toward you / carrying the glow of marigolds / lighting your path to my love.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ronsdale Press
• Release date: Nov 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781553805632

Lillian Boraks-Nemetz

Lillian Boraks-Nemetz was born in Warsaw, Poland, where she survived the Holocaust as a child, escaped the Warsaw Ghetto and lived in Polish villages under a false identity. She has a Master’s Degree in Comparative Literature and teaches Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. She is the author of numerous books, including Ghost Children, a collection of poetry, and The Old Brown Suitcase, a multi award-winning young adult novel.

Book preview

This Holy Place

This Holy Place

I was born with songs

surging from my throat

swirling in the blood of my life-givers

tossing in the currents

of trickster stories

of my Secwépemc ancestors

still fresh in my mind is

their last living image

standing on the shores of setétkwe

the river where my grandchildren now stand

humming songs to pull salmon from water to sky

tumbling in the waves at the banks and riverbeds of time

my long-gone relatives rattle

and drum small holy songs

atop the rippling river’s waves

that lead to the lakes and headwaters

where the Salmon and Saskatoons

offer their spirits to us

we call this land Secwepemcúlucw

so powerful, so strong

they bend the ears of kindred spirits

filling hearts, our hearts

with courage to speak

for this land

for this water

for our future

for this holy place

Home

this is home

a protective place

where the naked self

escapes the prison

where the winds stop

beyond the walls outside

the place where dreams begin

this is home

where daylight enters

banishing grey shadows

bringing moments of enlightenment

warm and rare. enlightenment

charmed by dreamers

this is home

A Hunt of My Own

the stars bent down in autumn

blessing another