I did reside
Being discovered
Meant certain death for you and I
Didn’t like it there
For it was moist and wet
But it became home
Much better than death
The nazis were too dumb
To lift up the boards
For if they did
They would only laugh at the hardship endured
For there was no light
For days on end
Stiffening of the muscles
Torso becoming so thin
There was no laughter
Or talking out of your mouth
Only anxiety and grief
And much doing without
We stayed like this
For days on in
Only coming out
Checking the paleness of our skin
Days turned into months
And months turned into a year
Until one day
It was safe to come out in the clear
Stumbling into what
Was once a street
Bearing witness to the Atrocities
We were forced to greet
The smell of death
Was horrific
And made one gasp
The war was over here but not in the Pacific
Allies and American forces
Were our heroes thru and thru
For they came to our rescue
To save the race of the Jews
Never do I want to
Face that again
I pray to God
No one else will be judged by their religion or the color of their skin
____________________________________________________________________
Underneath the floorboards
by Kimberly Stowe Green
