In my writing about poetry and the Second Generation there are two major motifs:
One motif is the use of poetry to create a narrative out of the silence, for the Holocaust was never discussed in our houses, yet weighed heavily upon us.
So the first set of poems deals with creating a narrative (Creating a Narrative From the Silence) and telling the stories (Holocaust Stories) in the hope that, with this narrative, the past can be remembered and those who need to be mourned, be mourned (Mourning).
The second motif is the transmission of the trauma from generation to generation. First childhood in the Survivor family is recounted (Childhood in the Shadow of the Holocaust) and also its effects on us as adults (A Generation On). These effects are looked at in our interpersonal relationships (Searching for Love) and in our attempts to find joy and meaning in an existence we learned to view as suffused with sadness (Joys and Sadness) in the hope to find some happiness and some healing (Healing).