Stolen name replaced by number,
Savaged soul and broken heart.
Hell, a people to encumber.
Blind eyes outside in darkness.
Dead souls dismissed the human face.
Stolen name replaced by number
Rising from the ashes,
Pledging nevermore.
Hell, a people to encumber
Yad VaShem, the vault of memory,
Yad VaShem, the ground of tears
Stolen name replaced by number
Shoah: families, children.
Here named, remembered, mourned
Hell, a people to encumber
Faces pictured in the silence.
Tears cried forevermore.
Stolen name replaced by number
Hell, a people to encumber
Copyright Joann Nelander
(experimental Villanelle)