Canities
For Penny Fuller's A-Z Challenge
Canities (full name: Canities subita), also called Marie Antoinette syndrome or Thomas More syndrome, is a condition of hair turning white very rapidly due to stress or trauma.
Let's have the poem first. Then I will tell you why this word has called to me.
~
That man
with his receding hairline and grey temples
mocks my feeble attempts at life
at my age
he rode on horseback all day
across golden fields
~
he does not talk
about the war
~
his story spills in droplets
I frown at his stinky feet
he says soldiers’ footwraps smelled worse when
the cold kept them in dugouts for weeks
his stomach still turns
~
that dark-haired boy turned fourteen
just after German troops crossed the border
but Soviet soldiers came first
~
he only mentioned once
his auntie’s face
while guns were aimed at her husband
whose hair turned white
~
that stooped bald man
full story lost forever
says he lived life as he wanted
and can go now
~
he does not talk
about the war
~
There are many interesting unusual words on the list here. However, Canites caught my eye and I knew immediately that this was what I had to write about. Why? Because of a deeply personal family story I heard from my father many years ago.
When the second World War started, he lived in his uncle's estate in the Eastern Borderlands of Poland. It was a tumultuous region at the time: German troops advancing from the west, Soviet soldiers attacking from the east and, on top of that, some Ukrainian insurgents saw this as an opportunity to do away with the local Polish population. As an aside, the region became part of the USSR after the war (Ukraine these days), and all the land owned by my father's family was seized by the state.
Anyway, my father never liked to talk about the war but once mentioned his worst memory from that time. Soldiers came to the village (can't remember their nationality) and announced that they would execute all adult men. Fortunately, my father's uncle managed to hide in a barn before they came. The entire family was led to a courtyard, including my father, his aunt and other people. All of a sudden, they noticed the soldiers coming with the uncle. When the aunt saw that he had been found, she raised both hands to her head and as she lowered them, my father saw thick clumps of hair between her fingers. She literally started shedding hair due to the stress. As for the uncle, he was dark-haired when he entered the barn. When the soldiers led him out of it, his hair was completely white.
This story ends well. The uncle survived on that day. He was about to be shot when the soldiers got the news about the approaching enemy troops and fled the village. Only the trauma remained and influenced not only the lives of those who were there but also the lives of their relatives and descendants.
This story feels pertinent at this time, when a lot of people worldwide are creating their own memories of war. Their trauma will also weave through generations to come.
About the Creator
Katarzyna Popiel
A translator, a writer. Two languages to reconcile, two countries called home.
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Comments (8)
I want to say profound is a good word for this piece, but it doesn't quite do it justice. Its almost a little divorced from the impact of both them poem and the history. Impressed also doesn't feel quite right because it almost feels too divorced from the subject matter. I'll go with impactful even though its not a bold enough word because I felt impacted.
well written
Oh, wow, Katarzyna! What an interesting word and incredible poem. Such a deep and horrific personal history for the connection
Another word that I haven’t heard of 😳. Very powerful tale & poem.
Aye, the trauma spreads, does it not.
What a word and what a story!
Thought your poem was excellent - the story behind made it even stronger. What a terrible thing for your family to go through. I’m glad your uncle wasn’t shot. What crazy times then….. and now.
This was very personal, poignant, and, like you say, pertinent to the climate of the world right now. Well done on writing this - it's an interesting word and felt like a bit of history and insight with the connection to the world.