Anniversary Poem by Roni Margulies

Nearly as many years ago as my age,
the Germans razed this city to the ground.
Not that there'd have been much resistence,
but the Nazis were in something of a rush.

Today is the fifth of May.
As I emerge for my morning walk,
I see streets festooned with flags.
It is, it seems, the anniversary
of the the end of the war for the Dutch.
Strange coincidence! Today is also
the day, long ago, I was born.

As Holland withdrew,
one would think, I
was sent to the front.