All There is to Know About Adolph Eichmann by Leonard Cohen

Throwing away my papers in English class during freshman year. Found this poem. I think I was writing about the doctors and their cruel human experiments, especially Josef Mengele. There came a point when I needed to walk away, and in the library that meant going to the third floor and reading some poetry. But that day I couldn’t escape, couldn’t hide from the horror.

All There is to Know About Adolph Eichmann
Leonard Cohen

EYES:……………………………………Medium
HAIR:……………………………………Medium
WEIGHT:………………………………Medium
HEIGHT:………………………………Medium
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES…None
NUMBER OF FINGERS:………..Ten
NUMBER OF TOES………………Ten
INTELLIGENCE…………………….Medium

What did you expect?

Talons?

Oversize incisors?

Green saliva?

Madness?

—

From Selected Poems, 1956-1968 by Leonard Cohen, published by Bantam Books, 1971.

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