Never

• Harriet Lomas, Grade 7
• Poetry
• 2009

Mum and Dad and Me are Jewish
We're stuck in World War Two
Whether to run or whether to hide
We didn't know what to do

It is by far my most vivid memory
A memory I will never forget
It’s a memory of sadness and shame
It’s a memory of grief and regret

It began with a bang in the streets
I was only five at the time
There was Mum and Dad and me
Holding hands and in a straight line

A gun was pointed to my head
My heart went colder than ice
Mum let out a small whine
Here eyes fixed on the black device

The man turned the gun from me
And aimed it right at Mum’s chest
I then heard a piercing BANG BANG
And her body fell down to rest

Dad was the next one in line
The man pulled the trigger once more
Very tightly his hand squeezed mine
Then there was no squeezing anymore

My two favourite things in the world
they’d sacrificed and left me forever
I would never forget them
Not ever.....not ever……never

I looked down the barrel of the gun
And I thought it was my time to go
He looked deeply into my brown eyes
Put his gun in his holster and though ‘no’