Red Slippers | Teen Ink

Red Slippers

May 30, 2015
By lyssmillie BRONZE, Plainview, New York
lyssmillie BRONZE, Plainview, New York
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

They came into our home
Said we had to pack all our belongings
  Said we had to leave most behind
   Said we were going somewhere, “Schnell!”

     Somewhere to work
      I put on my best shoes
       I wanted to look nice
        We got to the somewhere
          The somewhere did not look nice
           They told me to put on a grey outfit in place of my black
             It wasn’t as nice as my shoes
              We had to tend the fields
               We had to clean their clothes
                They did not give us much to eat
                  My red slippers were getting to be worn out
                    “Ich will nach Hause
                     I clicked my heels thrice
                      I kept up my work
                       Others were disappearing
           I too felt as if I was fading
            My black dress turned grey
             My slippers turned pink
              My face paler by the hour
  My emotions becoming distant
   My ribcage more prominent
     “gehen in die Dusche
      They herded us to the showers
       We all hurried in
        “mach die Tür zu,” the soldiers shouted
         We all began to cough
          We began to tear up
           Slowly everyone dropped
            Soon I felt my own knees weakening
             My body folding over
              My spirit ripping away
               I watched from above slowly rising up in the sky
   As my beautiful red slippers were thrown in a bin
    My body in a fire with the others
     And as I float higher
      I know I am going home
       Because home is a happy place
        And this place I can leave is not happy
         I know now my slippers’ magic is working
         And I will be in a much better place.


The author's comments:

This is about a young girl in the Holocaust. The German lines translate to (in order):

-Go

-I want to go home

-Get in the showers

-Close the doors


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