A poem by Jan Kot ... shared by his grandson, Daniel Grubb ....

Hello Audrey,

I thought I would send you this, which is featured in a poetry anthology called 'Old Playgrounds'

Below is a short introduction to the poem by my Aunt, international award winning crime writer Danuta Reah, Jan Kot's daughter.

Jan was my grandfather. I have left the grammatical errors in the poem as this was exactly how he wrote it.

I'd like to share a poem my father wrote. He was an officer in the Polish cavalry and escaped after the invasions of 1939. He joined the Polish Free Forces in Britain as a paratrooper, and was seriously injured when a parachute drop went wrong. He wasn't able to return to Poland for decades after the war – and by the time he was able to return, his mother was dead. This poem is about the last time he saw her.

1938
I didn’t see you
1939
Was too late
Do you remember when
you came to see me
standing there on Gorzów Station
Where is Janek? Did he forgotten to meet me?
And when I crept behind you
pick you off the ground
and twirl. And you pleaded
Put me down. Put me down Janek.
What all this people will say.
And then you kiss me and ruffle my hair

Jan Kot

If you would like to publish this poem on your site, I would appreciate it if you would also tell people about the anthology it is featured in. The anthology is compiled from poems by members of Jan's family.

 

Thank you.

Kind Regards,

Daniel Grubb

CEO

Fantastic Books Publishing