Yad Vashem, Valley of the Communities
tall walls of Jerusalem stone
pale orange, white, rust,
rough cut, big as bathtubs
cicadas hum
in a rectangle of sunlight
and green Jerusalem forest
above, a space of hope
feet crunch on gravel
where I sit at Budapest
wishing I knew the words
the Kaddish
Sima, our guide, said,
My grandfather and father
survived.
I am named after my aunt
Who didn't.
My Aunt Sima died at 15
Because she chose to stay
With her mother
In their village
My father, at 13, chose
To go with his father,
East, where the Russians
Told them they'd be returned
To their villages.
Instead, they were sent to Siberia,
Which saved them.
The men made their way
To Israel.
Melissa McKinstry
Holocaust "Where books are
burned, Berlin, May 10, 1933
means
"burnt offering,"
in Hebrew-Shoah.
human beings are also
destined to be burned."
-Heinrich Heine, poet, 1820
Nazis organized burning of
"banned" books throughout Germany.
For more information