etty and the jasmine

etty was beautiful, bohemian, urbane
she loved with her body and her mind
but deep within she found herself bound
inside of her a tight-wound ball of twine
her childhood a tragicomic madhouse
each night she cried buckets of tears
her lover broke her open and drew the poison out
and helped her probe where god might just appear

and in etty the jasmine blossomed undisturbed
as fully and as delicately as ever
and it spread its scent everywhere she went
creating a refuge in its pleasure
living and dying, the blisters on her feet
the jasmine, and unspeakable horrors
she carried everything in her, accepting it all
and etty somehow helped to make it better

she lived in days when people wore a yellow star
the camp where she worked pure misery
but she felt herself safe upon the naked breast of life
against every small barbarity
she refused to fear, refused to hate
refused to once again drink the poison
filled with tenderness, she was the others’ thinking heart
until they put her on a train to face her fate

but in etty the jasmine blossomed undisturbed
as fully and as delicately as ever
and it spread its scent everywhere she went
creating a refuge in its pleasure
living and dying, the blisters on her feet
the jasmine, and unspeakable horrors
she carried everything in her, accepting it all
and etty somehow helped to make it better.

Based on the writings of Etty Hillesum