Ken, Anne And Eleanor Poem by Jim Yerman

The Holocaust was a reminder to us…
besides being a most horrific crime…
that dark forces of evil and intolerance
have been flowing since the dawn of time.

If you want a sampling of how cruel and inhuman
we, who call ourselves human, can be…
I'll be frank…watch Ken Burns's ‘The U. S.
and the Holocaust' and read Anne's diary.

An innocent young child who, because of her religion,
faced unimaginable enmity and strife…
who never had the chance to grow old…
to have a long and happy life.

She was but one of millions of Jewish people
who, at the hands of the Nazis, died…
a crime so horrific it didn't have a word to describe it…
it does not…genocide.

But as I watched Ken Burns ‘Holocaust' and read Anne's words…thinking no crimes have ever been as gruesome as these…
I began to wonder if there were other children in the world
who have written similar diaries.

Looking back on the history of humankind…
I imagine there are a few…
and as difficult as it would be to hear their words…
I think we need to read them too.

Other groups of humans
whose annihilation was in other human's plans…
If these children had written diaries…
would their words be similar to Anne's?

From Native Americans, Blacks, people of color, women
who have endured so much torture and pain…
to LGBTQ+ people all over the world
and most recently…the people of Ukraine.

There are times when the stream of evil begins to overflow its banks
and no matter how much we pray…
its waters rush in determined to eliminate
anyone who gets in their way.

When groups of people are signaled out…belittled…
made to feel different and small….
until more diaries our discovered…
Anne's words must speak for them all.

Anne never got to finish her diary…
she died just before the end of the war….
but I imagine she wouldn't mind if it was finished
with words from Eleanor…

Eleanor…who throughout it all…remained steadfast…
resolute and strong….
She said there can be no compromise at any point
with things that we know are wrong.

Perhaps one way to keep the stream of evil contained…
to keep it from overflowing its shore…
would be to watch Ken's series
read through the pages of Anne's diary…
and heed the words of Eleanor.