Silence of the Trees

Photo: Lizzy Oziel

Restless beneath the sickly green surface
The blood of Thousands silently screams
beseeching someone
anyone
Everyone
to remember
Lives blotted from the books of history
Existing only in tiny fragments
Left to be uncovered and mourned by those of us who return in defiance
Still proudly bearing their names

If the trees in Poland could speak and bear witness, they would screech in agony and never stop

Though trees cannot tell tales
We the Jews scream on their behalf
With sorrow, with victory, with joy
Dismaying all who tried to wipe every trace of us from this earth

In one fell swoop
the Jewish people died
And the Jewish nation was reborn

Though our bodies may suffer and die
The flame of our spirit is eternal

Let us boldly scream for the rest of time
Loudly, proudly,
The divine light of Israel cannot be extinguished!

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