Dear Anna Akhmatova,
I sincerely hope that you are doing well. I’m writing to thank you for creating the powerful piece “Requiem.”” Few works of literature have ever affected my spirit the way your words have.
“Requiem” is a monument to the human spirit’s tenacity in the face of unfathomable suffering and loss. Your bravery in documenting the agony that so many people went through during the Stalinist era is both heartbreaking and motivating. Your skill as a poet is demonstrated by your ability to depict the sorrow and agony experienced by a whole generation.
You gave voice to the voiceless in “Requiem,” and your comments served as a potent reminder of the value of bearing witness to history’s most horrifying events.
The suffering people have found comfort in your poetry, and it has shown them the way to restoration and peace.
I want to express my gratitude for your bravery and dedication to justice and truth. Your writing has a lasting impact on readers all across the world and is a potent reminder of how literature has the capacity to illuminate even the most shadowy aspects of human history.
I sincerely respect and thank you.
Ghost of the dead
Yes!! Great letter/choice.
I read her Selected Poems during NaPoWriMo earlier this year.
I made note of Stanza five of this extraordinary poem.
“V
For seventeen months I have been screaming,
Calling you home.
I’ve thrown myself at the feet of butchers
For you, my son and my horror.
Everything has become muddled forever –
I can no longer distinguish
Who is an animal, who a person, and how long
The wait can be for an execution.
There are now only dusty flowers,
The chinking of the thurible,
Tracks from somewhere into nowhere
And, staring me in the face
And threatening me with swift annihilation,
An enormous star.”
Such courage, such powerful writing.