They too waited
for Spring
with bursting hearts.
They too studied in school,
read books, had hopes
and dreams,
fell in love, danced,
and even played games
until the very end, according to
a book I read.
They were no different from you,
except for the earth that
suddenly opened
beneath their feet one fine Spring day,
except for dropping through
some hidden crack in the universe,
except for having the unforgivable bad luck
of being in the wrong place
at the wrong time,
in the very heart of Western Civilization,
except for
being Jewish,
except...

One and one-half million Jewish children,
and uncounted thousands of other nationalities,
were killed by the Nazis.
Had they lived, they would have been
the cousins, the aunts, the uncles
of many Jewish students
who attend this school.
For most resistance was impossible.
A few escaped, a few fought back.
Some were saved by Christians
true to their faith.

On this Spring day,
in this season of rebirth,
spare a moment to think of them,
and the meaning of their deaths.
Remember...

Holocaust Remembrance
April 1992