Travel Advice for Paul

Of the place
Your grandparents
Were deported to,
Little remains.

Even though
It was a third
Of this city,
If not more.

Poles
Don’t seem to see
The alien ghosts
Among them.

Avoid
The official monuments;
They can’t help themselves
And lie.

Go inside
The courtyard of
The apartment building
At 62 Zlota Street.

The wall
You will see
Toward the back
Is what remains of the Wall

On Stawki Street find
a grey building
With a blue sign over its entrance
(“Nursing College” in Polish)

Look up at the windows.
These windows
Looked over
The Umschlagplatz.

Visit the cementary
On Okopowa Street;
Touch a few of the broken
Gravestones.

The stillness around you,
The dust on your fingers,
These could be
Your memorials.