The sun is bright,
Birds flutter to and fro
Ever-present but I was unaware:
In the shadows lurks
The Holocaust.
Why does the tour guide select me
To tell that Germans settled here
At the beginning of World War II?
Why?
Different than any other place I have been,
Quito, Ecuador!
The bus delivers us to a
Suburban Jewish Center
Surrounded by beautiful scenery.
Checked in by guards
We join the Seder celebration.
In line to eat after
The Seder rituals,
The heavily accented elderly man
Spoke to me.
Of course, a Holocaust Survivor.
Will this shadow follow me
Forever?
© 2022, Esther Rosenfeld Starobin. The text, images, and audio and video clips on this website are available for limited non-commercial, educational, and personal use only, or for fair use as defined in the United States copyright laws.