Adolfine, Pauline, Maria, and Rosa:
One more than Chekov’s sisters
All written out of their brother’s, Sigmund Freud’s ledger
Ottla tells Adolfine
That they were taken to the camp at Terezin
And that it would be best if they could stay there, the longer, the better
Ottla tells Adolfine
That the food was bland, each day leek soup
Mentioning in passing that she has a brother by the name of Franz Kafka
Adolfine has already started to imagine Kafka for herself
Struggling to fit his bachelor’s misfortunes inside a hat:
In the pregnant women’s barrack misfortune goes by a different name
In the eve of death
Without the light of the moon, it is clear
That black milk is not a poetic discovery
Under the black sun in the veiled darkness
The four sisters of Sigmund Freud
Patiently await the black train to no return
Early at dawn they fail to notice their brother, Sigmund
As he nervously fidgets, going to and fro on the platform
Before sprinkling his conscience inside the sisterly tear jar.