Material Witness
A mixed-media exhibition by Nancy Marks
Exploring the experience of my mother as a Holocaust survivor in occupied France and the parallels immigrants are living through today.
Please CLICK Material Witness artwork, writing and exhibition information
Show in Barnum Gallery at Tufts University, Medford.MA 2025
Material Witness is available for display throughout the country, with a talk by Nancy Marks.
Please reach out if interested in bringing Material Witness to your community or organization.
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Reflection/Confession
by Nancy Marks
Forgive me if I forget
that it’s 2025
and not 1942.
Forgive me if I forget that it’s Massachusetts
and not occupied France,
the place where my mother
hid in darkness.
The boots, then, were worn by Nazis.
Today, they are worn by ICE.
The people in hiding, then, were Jews.
Now they are Brazilians, Haitians, and Dominicans,
stilled into silence by the pounding on their doors.
Later, when I get into bed,
I will put on glasses and open my book.
In time, I will lean over
and turn off the light.
Questions still loom:
ones which chased me as a child,
and keep me writing poems as an adult.
What would I have done then?
What will I do now?
In the morning
I hope I will like the person
I see in the mirror.
