[David Callin]

Originally Posted by Alex Pepple

The title itself references dehumanizing propaganda historically used against vulnerable populations - "useless eaters" was Nazi terminology for those deemed unworthy of life.

This I did not know. It's useful information, and goes some way to justifying the last line.

I don't see any self-loathing in the poem - just a caricature of others' loathing of the speaker's cohort.

I do think the last line is a misjudgement, but that's partly offset by your revelation (also new to me) that the disabled were the Nazis' first victims. I just think that most people - like me - are likely to read it as an unreasonable - and presumptuous - assumption by the speaker of the Jews' sufferings under Nazidom. Whereas it's much more than that (as I now know). Do you need some sort of epigraph to that effect? (Probably at the end.)

Cheers

David