Holocaust Poetry 3: 'Daniel' by Laura Crist

How is juxtaposition used in this poem to highlight an important theme of Holocaust literature?
It uses juxtaposition as it is such a nice lovely poem describing the love that the mother has for the boy and how great her life is with him and all of a sudden it ends with him being 'sheared and stripped for the gas chamber'. These are two exact opposites as one is nice and great and loving and one is brutal. Also it shows the time that she spent with this boy and how she grew to love him and look after him and know him and all of a sudden he is just suddenly gone and these are two exact opposites as well. 
How is descriptive language used to enhance the reader's reaction to the poem?
It makes the viewer feel an enormous amount of sympathy for the mother as it describes how innocent and cute this little boy is and all of a sudden his childhood is taken away from him by being gassed. It also shocks the reader and makes them think about how fragile life is and how something so happy can turn into something so dark in an instant. The child innocence is taken away in an instant and they cannot grow up as normal children now. It is Not only the loss of innocence is taken away but also the loss of humanity towards not only the Jews but also the Nazi's who were forced to fight and kill people.

Daniel
	Laura Crist

And the child held her hand
A child tiny for almost eight,
Deep blue eyes that dominated his face,
When he explained new events to her,
     that funny doggy,
     that pretty rock,
And the freckles on his cheek,
No one saw a sunrise more perfect,
     to her,
She so vividly smells the fragrance of
     his hair,
     his ears,
     his breath in the morning
She vividly hears that little heartbeat,
     that was hers
     always hers,
     and the laughter,
     that raspy little laugh,
     when he caught her in a conundrum.
All this,
But this is merely the surface,
As she watches her little God sheared,
     and stripped,
For the gas chamber.