Match-book Memories

Match-book memories

My granddad kept a large glass bowl of match-books;

He worked and travelled a lot, and liked to remember

Where he’d been, and so there are additions from

America, and Germany, and France, and Austria.

I added a few myself: From Russia, and Poland, and Croatia,

Though they were often snatched from Hotel lobbies,

Rather than bedside tables, which makes me sad.

I remember thinking about these match-books

On the day I went to Auschwitz; not nearly

As cold as everyone says it is. The renovation

Taking place on the prisoner’s quarters in camp

One broke me out of it, and I left feeling informed,

And slightly numb. The tour guide explained to us

A saying in German, meaning, ‘Hiding under the lamp’,

But I can’t remember why.

We soon moved on, and travelled south; enjoying

Summer in Vienna is a wonderful thing, and is

Good for the heart. I fell in love with Budapest,

we saw the palace lit up in midnight reverie. 

We found a water fountain playing classical music 

that stunned us a little.The

From Piltvice lakes, I took a drink straight from the

Stream, and found out what water really tastes like.

But after two weeks, I was thinking about Auschwitz,

And what a funny word it was to me, when I

Found myself shut up in a toilet, and the faces of

The prisoners rushed past me.

I suddenly knew what seven tonnes of hair

looked like; what 43,000 pairs of shoes looked like.

The tour-guide challenged us to find a 

survivor of three years, and none of us could.

When my granddad died, I went through those

Match-books, but I didn't find his memories there.

I wish I'd asked him to tell me 

what these little match-books meant

to him.