"never again."
words we solemnly swore
as we watched the footage
of the genocide in europe
which still seems surreal
seventy years later.

we couldn't afford
to cling to the past
in a world
where there was only one button
on the controller:
fast-forward.

the people forgot the vow they'd made
to us and to themselves.
leaders got greedy
took things too far.
it didn't matter if you were from
asia or
the middle east
or africa.
you werent good enough.
nobody was.

the genocide began again.
worse, this time,
thanks to the new technology
that had been developed.
weapons,
communication,
ideas
improved.
but no-one had the words
"never again"
set as a daily reminder on their computers.

we've broken our vow
and now all i can do
is sit here and hope
that we will learn our lesson this time
and truly mean it
the next time we say
"never again."