Ellie Klaus

NationalPoetryMonth.ca April 8, 2023

Alive by Ellie Klaus appears on NationalPoetryMonth.ca on April 8, 2023

From Ellie Klaus

The genesis of "Alive" was the war between Ukraine and Russia.  I wrote this poem last year while remembering my mother’s stories from WW2. Nothing has changed. She lost her husband to a grenade; her daughter, my half- sister, died at a year and a half. She was buried in a mass grave. Her surviving child, my half- brother, developed diphtheria and lost his hearing in one ear. She recounted those who died were mostly the elderly and children. On one occasion, she was detained by a Russian solder in a room and was afraid she would be shot. The skies were black with fighter planes and she flung herself on the ground  feeling the wind from the bullets as they were flying by her.  This is one story of millions, experienced then, and sadly, now. When watching the images, I was trying to imagine how she coped...she was about twenty-four years old. How does one survive and move on? You definitely choke part of yourself....

 My work is founded in observations of people, life, and circumstances we all share. Nature is a refuge for me providing a sense of salvation and reprieve from “life”.

It is more than twelve years that I have required caregivers to aid me. I feel like I have been living in a cave, minus the bats for company. I gravitate towards shorter poems.

 My work can be found online in the Ekphrastic Review and in print in Pocket Lint(gnur).

Here is a sample, spurred by observations, I have written over the past several months. I would love to write a chapbook.

Heimat

What is home? 

Where is home? 

Who is home? 

When am I home? 

Why home? 

Autumn Breeze

Clouds sailing the skies 

Birds surfing the currents 

Leaves spiraling in the wind. 

A fine Autumn day.

Morning

The quiet stillness of the morning belies 

The beams of light penetrating the room 

Illuminating and disguising the darkness 

That once was there. 

Reservoir

My body is a reservoir of sadness, 

Of tears shed and unshed. 

A magnificent fountain 

With sprays of water 

Cascading over walls 

Of cracked memories 

And thoughts.

Ellie Klaus was born and raised in Montreal. She has lived different selves over several decades: daughter, wildlife biology graduate, vision quest traveler, family life educator, friend, confidante, lover, wife, mother, caregiver and now caregivee, if there is such a word. Each has contributed to a different perspective of living and ample opportunity for reflection. The pieces of the puzzle are coming together, although the final image is yet to be revealed. Writing has become a creative endeavor, and saviour, to release some of the angst that arises from living a confined life.       

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