Holocaust Poetry

What is your initial reaction to this poem?
My initial reaction to this poem was empathy for all the innocent children that wouldn't of known what was going on and i also really thought about the holocaust like i hadn't before. I actually thought about all the children and adults that did have their futures in front of them that were lost because they were treated like animals and forced into areas that were isolated. 

Evokes emotion
Compassion
Powerful

How does the author use 'we' in this poem?
The author uses 'we' like she was there and she was one of the children that was taken away and put into a camp.

More powerful
Personal
Repetition of we to signify the WHOLE group of people 

What are the verbs used in the first sentence?
Played and Laughed

Loved

What are the verbs used in the second sentence? How do they contrast with those used in the first sentence?
Ripped and Thrown, they contrast with played and laughed because they are total differences and it shows the turn in their lives. Use of juxtaposition

What effect does the listing of 'lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers'? What is it meant to signify?
By listening that variety of different jobs and occupations, it shows that all types of people were thrown in there, every day people that we wouldn't interact with were put in there.

They wanted to contribute to society.
Common jobs

What simile is used in the poem and what effect does it have?

"We were taken away in the dead of night like cattle in cars" The effect this has on the poem is that they were treated like animals and just taken away without feeling, its just inhumane.

How has the poet represented herself in the last sentence?
In the last sentence, the poet has represented herself as a victim because her life was taken away for no reason.

If you could communicate to this person, a victim of the Holocaust, what would you want to say? What do you feel that you must do in your life as a response to this poem?
If i met someone that was a victim of the Holocaust i would ask them what it was like, a deeper response than bad and inhumane. What they had to do, work wise, how much they got fed, and all those technical questions. I would also like to know if their views on life were changed, which i assume they would be. From reading this poem i don't take in a message for what i have to do in life, other than enjoy it while you can because it might change and you won't know why.