never has to worry, never has to cry

" I Am a Jew "
( What else would I call it ? )
[ written two years ago;
minor edits made ]

I am a Jew,
placed in the back of class,
banned from parks,
beaten up in the streets.

I am a Jew,
marked with the Star of David,
a yellow armband;
books and buildings burned.

I am a Jew,
imprisoned;
near nothing to eat,
even less to drink.

I wish I were a bird,
free and graceful;
never has to worry,
never has to cry.

I am a Jew,
stripped nak3d,
shaven completely;
treated like garbage.

I wish it could end,
the pain and suffering;
the gas chambers,
the human ovens.

I am a Jew,
digging my own grave.

The Naz1s are gone;
an escape plan.
I crawl through the fence.

For once, I can say
with some sense of dignity,
I am
a Jew.