Here I am, standing,
Alone in the world,
My hair disheveled, my eyes darkened and lined
From exhaustion.

My parents are dead, my home is destroyed,
And the life that I previously had
Is now gone,
vanished into thin air, disappearing forever.

My feet are bare and dirty,
And my possessions have been stolen,
Rendering me helpless and alone,
Searching for a reason to continue on
With my worthless, pitiful life.

I am staring into space, in a trance
As the trauma of the recent past washes over me,
The violence of what they did to me
Slowly sinking in.

They did it to me because I’m Jewish.
That I understand.
But what I just don’t get,
What I just can’t wrap my frail hands around
Is why they hurt me so.