If I Could Step Away, I Would Side-Step

We cannot erase it

no matter how much

we want to forget it.

Autumn Evening

by Peretz Opochinsky

The evening poured over me its gold -

my heart is caged in sunset sadness

hidden in a grassy sewer behind town -

I gazed tired as a wall, as a stone.

A dull rosy fog is spread over the field,

and young trees cuddle close in forest,

scattered rays stray, yearn to find their way,

like lost wanderers seeking rest.

And deep in the village cottages dreamed

with compassion roofs covered the walls.

Someone at a window is telling a tale

of a homeless one’s life at the end.

The cukoo mourns and complains about night,

a squirrel aims for the heights,

trees and rivers rustled and rushed with regret:

someone has lost their dream, their tomorrow.

They say we must always remember

and never forget

but let's face it

what is more important

is to realize

 we live under one roof

and our only shelter is Earth
and it is soaked enough
with our own blood.

*  Peretz Opochinsky is a poet from the Warsaw Ghetto Ringelblum