In learning about the Holocaust for the millionth time:
___
I wonder if this ever becomes
a worn topic to some
because for me
it always feels
too new
___
I count the decades from
where we are today and
they always feel
too close
for comfort
___
maybe it’s because
I know enough bad jokes
about myself
to silence an entire synagogue
___
maybe it’s because
I learned how to make
a mockery of my people
before I knew why
there were so few left
___
this was before I was
old enough to understand what
it meant to be
a dying breed
___
and the town I lived in
felt too much shtetl
to understand that
the hatred we laughed about
wasn’t a joke to
the rest of the world
___
and us,
just enough Ashkenaz
to keep the blood still
alive
___
I imagine a scene:
a room crowded by
too many bodies
and wonder how any God
could pass by without
noticing
___
how he would be
unable to hear
that many last breaths
being taken at once
___
I still wonder the same.
___
In learning about the Holocaust for the millionth time:
___
I’ve written this poem a
million times
but it never seems
enough
___
I picture six million
and wonder how many of them
would have had my name
___
I picture six million
and wonder if we’ll ever learn
from our mistakes
___
and somewhere
in a classroom
a kid is rolling his eyes
at a story he thinks he’s heard
too much of
___
and somewhere still
we are saying things
like never again
knowing too well that
repetition has always been
one of history’s greatest
talents
danielleshorr.com 
!!! This reminded me of the first time I fell in love with Slam. (After I heard some, I wrote my own that night). I wrote about the Holocaust. I have that piece on my site if you want to check it out. I love this though!
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