Stone 24
THE BUTTERFLY
(THERESIENSTADT GHETTO JUNE 4, 1942)
THE LAST, THE VERY LAST, SO RICHLY, BRIGHTLY,
DAZZLINGLY YELLOW. PERHAPS IF THE SUN’S TEARS
WOULD SING AGAINST A WHITE STONE
SUCH, SUCH A YELLOW IS CARRIED LIGHTLY AWAY
UP HIGH, IT WENT AWAY I’M SURE BECAUSE IT
WISHED TO KISS THE WORLD GOODBYE
FOR SEVEN WEEKS I’VE LIVED IN HERE PENNED UP
INSIDE THIS GHETTO BUT I HAVE FOUND MY PEOPLE
HERE. THE DANDELIONS CALL TO ME AND THE WHITE
CHESTNUT CANDLES IN THE COURT ONLY I NEVER
SAW ANOTHER BUTTERFLY.
THAT BUTTERFLY WAS THE LAST ONE. BUTTERFLIES
DON’T LIVE IN HERE. IN THE GHETTO.
PAVEL FRIEDMANN DIED AT AUSCHWITZ –RIRKENAL
ON SEPTEMBER 27, 1944 AT THE AGE OF 23.
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In 1942, a young Czech named Pavel Friedmann wrote a poem titled “The Butterfly.” Friedmann wrote the poem while in the Terezin Concentration Camp before he died in Auschwitz in 1944. “The Butterfly” voiced the spirit of the 1.5 million children who perished during the Holocaust. In the decades after the death of Friedman and the discovery of the poem, it has been widely adopted as a foundational text of Holocaust literature and is often quoted for its universalist sentiment.
Aaron, Arielle A. In The Presence of Butterflies: The Story of the Original Butterfly Project. (AuthorHouse Publishing, 2011)