Adam Boren’s poem, “127956,” details his reflection on the tattooing process. The poem contains one-to-two words in a line to show best how Mr. Boren processes the experience. In his testimony with the VHA, he states that the Nazis lined the prisoners up in a “single row” and “handed them pieces of paper with a number on it,” but he does not elucidate his mindset during the process. Mr. Boren discusses the experience more as an occurrence than an event, focusing on it briefly before moving on to the next subject. Thus, Ms. Fishman formatted the poem in a fragmented way to show his lack of reflection on the topic. To him, the event is lumped in with many other horrendous events, not garnering any special recognition of significance. Male survivors seem to have this tendency, as they do not focus on the minute details. Whether this is innate, such as brain function, or rather a macho mindset of “being a man,” one can not say. What can be said is that when Mr. Boren discusses the tattooing process, he is stoic, showing no outward emotion, unlike Mrs. De Jong, who was visibly troubled reflecting on the process. Ms. Fishman’s research concluded that when dealing with the tattooing process, females focused more on the details, while males focused primarily on the end results.
127956
Flashbacks
In
My Mind
Darkness.
Single
Row
Don’t Move
Fear.
Paper
Handed
To Us
Confusion.
Line
Stay
In Line
Obey.
Number
Needle
Don’t Feel
Numb.
Tattoo
127956
Left Arm
Identity.
