I Didn't Say Goodbye

They came at night Breaking doors and windows Like they broke my mother’s heart. We were forced into cattle cars Crammed together like sardines In a smelly, dirty, sweltering box. And then, we reached Auschwitz, home of the living dead. We stepped out into the sunlight Blinded momentarily, As we stepped through the gates And left our dreams in the dust. All our belongings Were thrown in a pile Left behind like our memories Of the former world. Our clothes, our hair, our dignity was removed at once. We worked from dawn ‘til dusk With the Germans constantly beating us Like the hot sun beating down on our backs. I searched everywhere For an ounce of sympathy But all I saw Was cold, hard disgust In their blue eyes. They did not see us as humans, They see us as animals. My mother and sisters were taken In the dead of night, again. I have come to hate the night Even now. My father was taken the next day And as he was led away to another camp He glanced back, tears streaming down his face. I had never seen my father cry before. Sleep and food evaded us And the strength was sapped from our bones Insults were pounded into our ears, Like the bullets pounded into the bodies Of my brothers After they were caught trying to escape. They gave me hope That I could break free And so I did. I ran for days, Fleeing from the Germans, Hitler, Hunger, Work, Beatings, Insults, Enslavement... But I could not escape The memories. One day here, The next day gone, And I didn’t say goodbye.