Poetry
Words for Hope | I Was Afraid | There is No Sense

I Was Afraid
by Terrace Holocaust Survivors Group

 

I was afraid that I would cry and my tears would leave me empty.

I was afraid they would think I was lying.

    I was afraid they would know my shame.

 I was afraid I would stay dead inside.

 I was afraid they could look into my eyes,

 And know and see what I had seen.

 I was afraid I would remember too much.

 I was afraid I would forget too much.

 I was afraid that no-one would care

 About my dead family.

 I was so afraid.


These poems were created by the Holocaust Survivors' Group, a unique group of women originating from a variety of different countries, cultures and lifestyles. These poems have been reprinted from Collective Poems: The Terrace Holocaust Survivors' Group,
edited by Paula David (Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care), Toronto.