Found Poems

4/5/2013

Please post your found poems from "Hope, Memory, and Despair" by Elie Wiesel here. You may respond to another classmate if you feel moved to do so.

30 Comments

Ms. Sutton

4/5/2013 07:10:02 am

Survival
by Shelia Sutton (a found poem)

Mankind needs peace more than ever
I remember the victims
I often think we have

Have we failed?
Can I cry now?
Why go on?

Forgetting was never an option
Cannot live without hope
Cannot live without dreams

Believe

Struggles to readjust to life

Impossible

Never forget

Alvin O. per.5

4/6/2013 06:07:07 pm

Memory

Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope
If dreams reflect the past, hope summons the future
Where was God in all this?
The call of memory, the call to memory, reaches us from the very dawn of history
It is wise men who will bring peace
Perhaps, because wise men remember best
Only God and God alone can and must remember everything
We must remember the suffering of my people
The source of hope was memory
Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair.

Aron I. Period 5

4/7/2013 04:37:30 am

Day of Memory

He is alone. On the verge of despair.
War leaves no victors, only victims
If memory continually brought us back to this
Why go on?
The rejection of memory becomes a divine curse
Hope is possible beyond despair
If dreams reflect the past, hope summons the future
The source of his hope was memory
Hope without memory is like memory without hope
The loss of one is equivalent to the sacrifice of the other
Mankind needs to remember more than ever
It is memory that will save humanity

Dinh T, Period 5

4/7/2013 05:41:54 am

What is Life Without Hope?

He cannot live without hope
Why go on?
Why build a home?
Is it not natural for a human to repress what causes him pain, what causes him shame?
Permanent, paralyzing fear of death
God alone can and must remember everything
Without fear, without regret
Those who listened refused to believe
We must remember the suffering

Jeffery W., Period 5

4/7/2013 08:07:00 am

The Future

Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope
If dreams reflect the past, hope summons the future
Faith is essential to rebellion
Hope is possible beyond despair
We are powerless to prevent injustices
It is our obligation to denounce it and expose it in all its hideousness
Destruction only man can provoke, only man can prevent

An H., Period 5

4/7/2013 09:17:19 am

To Forget and Remember

Just as man cannot live without memory,
he cannot live without hope
The loss of one is equivalent to the sacrifice of the other
Forgetting was never an option
And yet, it is surely human to forget, even want to forget
Memory helps us to survive, forgetting allows us to to on living
We emerged from the nightmare
Because I remember, I despair
The call of memory, the call to memory
The source of hope was memory

Benjamin L., Period 5

4/7/2013 01:34:57 pm

There is always Hope.

Without memory
The loss of one is equivalent to the sacrifice of the other
Just as man cannot live without dreams
He cannot live without hope
Stripped of possessions
The prisoner found themselves in a social and cultural void
Forget
He who decided who would live and who would die
A destruction only man can provoke
Only man can prevent
Mankind must rememeber that peace is not God's gift tohis creatures
It's is our gift to each other.

courtney t per 5

4/7/2013 03:17:01 pm

Life
life in this accused universe was so destroyed
the experience of the camps duties comprehension
she was seven, that little girl who went to her death
i remember the victims, even as I struggle to invent a thousand and one reasons to hope.

Jacelyn K. Per 5

4/7/2013 03:30:37 pm

Hope, Never Forgotten

He is alone.
Forgotten everything
On the verge of dispair.
But the opposite of the past is not the future
Remembering is a noble and necessary act.
Forgetting is never an option
Hope was memory
and it must be ours.

Lika M. Period 5

4/8/2013 05:10:43 am

Victim of Hope

He is alone.
On the verge of despair.
Have we failed?
Can I cry now?
Where was God in all this?
"Forget" they were told, " Forget where you came from, forget who you were. Only the present matters."

War leaves no victors, only victims.
We could try to forget the past.
But for us, forgetting was never an option.
Remembering is a noble and necessary act.

Why go on?
Why not?
Hope without hope is like memory without hope.
Just as a man cannot live without dreams,
he cannot live without hope.

Eric Lo, Period 5

4/8/2013 05:42:06 am

Hope, Despair, and Memory

This he must believe in order to go on.

He strives to find a place among the living.

Like a tomb which rejects the living.

Like the body, memory protects its wounds.

I have forgotten everything.

The loss of one is equivalent to the sacrifice of the other.

All humanity were suffering too much.

Dawson W., Period 5

4/8/2013 05:54:53 am

Lost of Fate

Where was God in all this,
Human to forget,
Stripped,
Wondered if one was still is alive,
We tried. It was not easy,
Mystical power of memory,
Powerless to prevent,
Only man can prevent,
Total destruction,
Mankind must remeber that peace is not God,
It is our gift to each other.

Andrew L. , Period 5

4/8/2013 06:51:41 am

The Determined

A memory,
Memory that will save humanity.
Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope,
He is alone
And yet he does not give up.
He must believe in order to go on
Without fear, without regret
We TRIED.
It was not easy.

Aren Lim

4/8/2013 11:21:42 am

Without memory
Like a prison cell into which no light penetrates.
Like a tomb which rejects the living.
Save humanity.
A world where the past no longer counted.
Social and cultural void.
Seemingly endless processions.
Lighting up the sky.
A divine gift.
Words were inadequate.
Powerless to prevent injustice.

Tara D.

4/8/2013 01:32:48 pm

Loss of Faith

God had entrusted to him.
Did he ever lose his faith?
To invent a thousand and one to reasons to hope.
The source of his hope was memory.
Hope without memory is like memory without hope.
A recollection.
Remembering is a noble and necessary act.
Forgetting was not an option.
Because I remember, I despair.
I have the duty to reject despair.

Wei L.

4/9/2013 03:27:16 pm

Remember

It is memory that will save humanity
a new "creation" with its own princes and gods
memory protects its wounds
because of language, language failed us
remember the suffering of my people
the list seems endless
when we fail to protest
mankind needs to remember more than ever

James R., Period 5

4/9/2013 04:51:37 pm

Regained powers
Regained memory
Memory will save humanity
Memory of evil will serve,
As a shield against death
Memory of death will serve,
As a shield against death
One dead wondered if one was still alive
And one wise man rememberd at his best

Andy T. Per 5

4/10/2013 12:42:40 pm

Memories

It is memories that will save humanity.
"Forget," we were told.
Without dreams, he cannot live without hope.
Why go on?
Forgetting was never an option.
We tried.
It was not easy.
The people around us refused to listen.
Have we failed?

Dominic Garcia Per. 5

4/17/2013 04:33:50 am

Dark Cold Nights

For us, forgetting was never a option.
And yet real despair only seized us later
Towards memory with the need to forget that is essential to life
No generation has had sorrow, the tears of mothers driven to madness,
the prayers of the doomed beneath a fiery sky.
And then too,the people around us refused to listen;
and even those who listened refused to believe;
and even those who believed could not comprehend.
Thousands of children would once again be dying of starvation,
we would not have believed it.
Or that racism and fanaticism would flourish once again,
we would not have believed it.

Robert Carrasco Per 5

4/17/2013 04:37:45 am

A Man without hope

Suddenly the master turned to his servant and asked: "Remind me of a prayer. "
Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope.
A young man struggles to readjust to life.
His mother, his father, his small sister are gone.
For he has just returned from a universe where God, betrayed by his creatures, covered his face order not to see.
He who decided who would live and who would die; who would be tortured, and who would be rewarded.
And yet real despair only seized us later.
Of course we could try to forget the past.

Aldo Haro Period 5

4/17/2013 04:40:00 am

FOUND POEM

Hope without memory is memory without hope
The opposite of the past is not the future, but the absence of future
Forgetting was never an option
Remembering is a noble and and necessary act
Memory helps us to survive
Don't be afraid, don't be sorry to die
Did he ever lose his faith?
Have we failed?
I often think we have

Jeanette F. Period 5

4/17/2013 04:44:50 am

Found Poem

If dreams affect the past,
Hope summons the future.
The two are not incompatible.
This he must believe in order to go on.
Forget where you came from,
Forget who you are.
Only the present matters.
of course we could try to forget the past,
For us, forgetting was never an option.
And yet real despair only seized us later.

Zerlinda L. Per. 5

4/17/2013 04:49:59 am

Hope, Despair, and Memory Found Poem

Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope.
The loss of one is equivalent to the sacrifice of the other.
A young man struggles to readjust his life.
His mother, his father, his small sister are gone.
He is alone.
Why go on?
Forgetting was never an option.
To decide once and for all to put an end to hatred of anyone who is "different".
I have the duty to reject despair. Mankind needs more peace than ever.

Ryan K. Period 5

4/17/2013 04:51:26 am

I love this story
for it illustrates the messianic expectation
which reamins my own.
For me, hope without memory is like memory without hope.
If dreams reflect the past,
hope summons the future.
The loss of one is equivalent to the sacrafice of the other.
A world where the past no linger counted
no longer meant anything.

Raymond Tseng

4/17/2013 04:52:42 am

Indifference (Found Poem by Raymond Tseng)

"Forget" they were told, "Forget who you are."
Men and women were suddenly reduced to nameless and faceless creatures
We could not bury our dead, We bear the graves within ourselves
The passivity of onlookers, silence of allies.
Where was God in all this?
Hope without memory is like memory without hope.
There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice.
But peace is something we give to each other.

Ruben Montes per. 5

4/17/2013 04:53:43 am

Forgetting was never an option. Why go on? The call of memory, the call to memory, reaches us from the very dawn of history. A young man struggles to readjust his life. His mother, his father, his small sister are gone. He is alone. Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope. And yet it is surely human to forget, even to want to forget. Of course we could try to forget the past. Why not?

David O. Period 5

4/17/2013 04:58:42 am

Found Poem

A world where the past no longer counted,
No longer meant anything.
Walking among the dead,
One wondered if one was still alive.
Remembering is a noble and necessary act.
Nothing provokes
So much horror and opposition
Within the Jewish tradition as war.
Perhaps, because wise men remember best.

raymond morales

4/17/2013 05:00:06 am

suddenly the master turned to his servant and asked' remind me of a prayer-any prayer.
just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope.
a young man struggles to readjust to life. his mother, his father, his small sister are gone.
for he has just returned from a universe where god, betrayed by hus creatures, covered his face in order not to see.
He who decided who would live and who would die, who would be tortured and who would be rewarded.
and yet real despair only seized us later.
of course we could try to forget the past.

Cally M., Period 5

4/17/2013 10:56:14 am

We tried. It was not easy.
And here we come back to memory.
For us, forgetting was never an option.
Have we failed?
The next question had to be, why go on?

Jessica Alfaro

4/18/2013 03:48:52 am

Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope.
If dreams reflect the past, hope summons the future.
Like the body, memory protects its wounds.
And yet it is surely human to forget, even to want to forget.
Forget where you came from, forget who you are.
Only the present matters.

Found Poems

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