'I Froze'

During the holocaust

My grandparents were taken
I feared I was next

As I walked down the street

I was so scared
A banned house, nothing left

I saw Nazis

They took my friends and family
I wanted to escaped

I couldn’t. 

I stood there in fear
I froze.

At that moment I wanted to die

Nothing was left
Nothing but the memories

Escaping was an option

But I couldn’t just leave
My family was here

The only thing was to wait

I prayed everyday it would end
And hope id be here in the end with my family and friends.

This poem is by Kelsey Burrier, a 13-year-old eighth grader at Fairport Harding School in Fairport Harbor, Ohio.  Kelsey has imagined a life of persecution under the Nazi regime, capturing the loss and terror that so many experienced.  Thank you, Kelsey, for putting yourself in the shoes of young people who lived through the Holocaust era and expressing your reflections in this poem.