A memory, by Nancy Sherwood:
All Souls Day. Poznan, Poland 1979. We had only been living in Poznan for a few months when this date rolled around. Poland was still ruled by communism and we knew that we were followed everywhere and that our apartment was bugged.
All Souls Day. Poznan, Poland 1979. We had only been living in Poznan for a few months when this date rolled around. Poland was still ruled by communism and we knew that we were followed everywhere and that our apartment was bugged.
We were surprised at how stark everything seemed. The buildings in Poznan had for the most part been left standing after "the war" (WWII). As opposed to Warsaw where the order had been not to leave any stone standing upon another.
As a result, many of the buildings in Poznan were pock marked with the holes left by machine gun fire. Walking my 20 month old in her stroller I often imagined being behind one of those windows where the machine gun had clearly strafed- bullet holes up one side of the window and again, picking up the trail of holes on the other side.
I was a sad and gloomy place to live. Soft coal was used to heat homes and offices, so there was always a soft coating of black dust on my baby and myself after our walks.
The Cold War was still on. We were instructed by State Department Security not to fraternize. If someone offered to hand you something, anything at all, do not take it. You were at risk of being photographed and accused of being a spy. We had friends in Warsaw who left. Unexpectedly. Overnight. We were not allowed to talk about it, so we never knew what happened. Still don't. One family had to leave so sudden;y that they had to leave their dog- which another Foreign Service family arranged to ship back to the owners, in the States.
What made me think of all of this so many years on? All Souls Day.
On All Souls Day in Poznan, Poland, we wrapped out little girl in blanket and went to observe the tradition. We went to a large cemetery, military I think. Every single grave had a small candle lit atop the grave stone. They all flickered and nodded in the slight breeze.
A light snow fell as we stood there. It was sad, somber, beautiful and oh so moving.
We don't have pictures. We didn't need them. That peaceful, holy night will be with me forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment