Inherited Shadows Of Trauma Poem by Tony-Cemaluk Egbuonu

In the depths of memory, a weight resides,
Conceived in fear, born in exile's dark tides,
My father's silence, silenced by early death,
A story unspoken, a truth veiled in breath.

But my mother's eyes, a window to the past,
A truth unbroken, a legacy to forever last,
The plot, the pogrom, the plight, the flight,
Echoes of pain, in endless, darkest night.

His bruised lap, a canvas of scars and shame,
A testament to the stories he cannot reclaim,
Mother's words, a gentle, guiding light,
Through the darkness, a beacon in flight.

Her husband's escape, a narrow, fragile thread,
A last train to freedom, a life unsaid, unspun,
Inherited shadows, a legacy of pain,
A story passed down, like a refrain, a stain.

I carry the weight, the memories, the scars,
A reminder of the journey, near and far,
Through the stars-studded road to freedom's gate,
A path paved with tears, a story to create.