PoemAfter Auschwitz
Author / PoetAnne Sexton
TagsAnger, Death, Despair, Humanity

Anger,
as black as a hook,
overtakes me.
Each day,
each Nazi
took, at 8:00 A.M., a baby
and sauteed him for breakfast
in his frying pan.

And death looks on with a casual eye
and picks at the dirt under his fingernail.

Man is evil,
I say aloud.
Man is a flower
that should be burnt,
I say aloud.
Man
is a bird full of mud,
I say aloud.

And death looks on with a casual eye
and scratches his anus.

Man with his small pink toes,
with his miraculous fingers
is not a temple
but an outhouse,
I say aloud.
Let man never again raise his teacup.
Let man never again write a book.
Let man never again put on his shoe.
Let man never again raise his eyes,
on a soft July night.
Never. Never. Never. Never. Never.
I say those things aloud.

Anne Sexton
Anne Sexton
9 Nov 1928 - 4 Oct 1974
Region: North America
Period: Contemporary
Movement: Confessional
Awards: Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

more poems by Anne Sexton

Poem NameTopic
The Starry NightDeath, Night, Stars
Woman with GirdleAging, Body, Transformation
The KissComposer, Resurrection, Sensation
The Fury Of CocksGod, Morning, Power
The Fury Of OvershoesChildhood, Memories, Overshoes
Sylvia’s DeathDeath, Grief, Suicide
The AddictAddiction, Death, Pills
Ringing the BellsBells, Isolation, MentalHealth
CinderellaCinderella, FairyTale, Irony

all poems by Anne Sexton

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