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by Sophie G, Brilliant Contributor, The Brilliant Foundation
In this series, we look towards the young – teenagers who have written a narrative poem of an individual from herstory (history). From our youngest contributor, Sophie G, 13 years of age has chosen Anne Frank as her inspiration.
In the heart of Amsterdam, where the canals flow,
Lies the tale of a girl whose spirit did glow.
Anne Frank, whose heart no darkness could dim,
A story of courage in the face of tragedy.
Born into a world gripped by war’s cruel hand,
Forced to seek refuge in the dead of night.
With her mother, father, sister and friends,
They fled to an annex on Prinsengracht 263.
Behind a bookcase’s veil, she dwelled,
In realms of silence, her spirit surged.
A flicker of candlelight, her solace,
Amidst the chaos, a poet’s promise.
Her bedroom, a canvas painted with memories,
The wall, scattered with photos of her covets.
Through the barred windows, she gazed at the clouds,
Yearning for freedom, with a heavy sigh.
But in the stillness, her voice found its wings,
As she poured her soul into her secret chronicle.
Anne’s pen danced across pages, ink ablaze,
Capturing moments in the attic’s labyrinth.
A diary, her confidant, her trusted friend,
In its pages, her hopes and dreams were liberated.
With each stroke of her pen, a world anew,
A sanctuary of words, where her spirit flew.
Her feelings, disquietude, demoralize, deceit,
They floated away as she wrote in her diary.
Betrayed by fate’s cruel hand, a Nazi’s decree,
Her laughter silenced; her dreams denied.
Yet, outside, tyranny’s hand did reach,
A world ablaze, where hatred preached.
But within those walls, a sanctuary was found,
Where innocence and courage seemed trapped without hope.
Still, danger lurked in the shadows, unseen,
As tyranny’s grip tightened its hold, firm as stone.
Cloaked in fear, they whispered, hearts held firm,
As darkness threatened to extinguish the light.
On a fateful day, in the chill of dawn,
Her light extinguished in a sober array.
BANG! CRASH! Their home was breached.
As footsteps echoed on the hidden floor,
She was bound and taken; her sanctuary was lost.
Forced in a cattle wagon for three days,
So many people cramped in the tiny vessel.
No food, no water, no lavatory,
No one knew where they were going,
They just knew, they may never leave their destination.
On the third day, they finally walked out.
Thousands of people, assessed for labour,
Hundreds of people led to a chamber,
No one had ever escaped alive.
In the depths of Bergen-Belsen’s affliction,
Through barbed wire fences and barracks cold,
She faced the horrors of a living hell.
Days stretched long, and hunger gnawed,
And in her heart, resilience remained.
But alas, the hand of fate did bellow,
And Anne, the captive nightingale, did fall.
A whisper in the silence, a sigh in the air,
Her spirit ascended beyond any sight.
Anne’s light flickered out, a star lost from the sky.
Yet her words, her spirit, they continue to inspire.
Though her life was undoubtedly cut short, her legacy lives on,
In the hearts of millions, her light is forever drawn.
For in the darkest of times, people must believe,
That love and courage will never be in vain.
-END-
Copyright@The Brilliant Foundation
Anne Frank (born June 12, 1929, Frankfurt am Main, Germany—died February/March 1945, Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, near Hannover) was a Jewish girl whose diary of her family’s two years in hiding during the German occupation of the Netherlands became a classic of war literature.
Image Credits : https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/who-was-anne-frank/
