When You Set Out to Write A Poem...

When You Set Out to Write A Poem … 9 May 1944
When you set out to write a poem
Look inside yourself for what are called feelings
For no matter how little you might know
In your own world, you are the king
Whose wish reigns supreme, who is all knowing.
And write about the battle within your soul
About a love effervescent in your heart
Write also about how you see life
Write about people who care about you
Write abut what you feel when you see nature.
In the end, nothing can ever emerge as purely
Nothing can be as simple and yet as beautiful
As what is born of your inner self
What is destined for you and you alone
What blows your way like a soft breeze…
Heinz Geiringer’s last poem (translated by Sheila Gogol)
Questions for Discussion:
1. In this poem Heinz uses abstract images? What are they?
2. Heinz’s previous pieces discuss life as a purveyor of the “outside” world. Here he applauds life from “within”. Explain.
3. Review the poem’s word choices. What word(s) seem specifically chosen for this poem?
4. Define the importance of the simile at the close of the poem.
5. What basically does Heinz ask you to write about?
6. Is your answer to number 5 found in any line within the poem?
7. Do you feel Heinz chose a good title for this piece? Why or why not?
8. If you were to change the title, what would it be?
9. What would you like to ask Heinz at this point in his Holocaust journey?