A Real Stand

The war tried to kill him.
The Nazis tried to exterminate him
but he did not die, would not die.
He was saving his time.

Father, friend, husband
Teacher, scientist, Professor
Romanian, Jew, American
the titles of his life with the additions of survivor, then hero

When he was 15 he withstood madmen’s death
When he was 77 he withstood a madman’s death again
This time, his last stand to hold a door
saved students, sons and daughters, at Virginia Tech.


Dedicated to Professor Liviu Librescu, Holocaust Survivor/ American Hero
© Clinton Thomas, 2007

Never allowed to play

They were never allowed to play
only stripped of dignity and life.
Their short existence too much for a master race
to stand
Led by a star to travel toward
gas, gun, and graves
that became the last toys in this life.

Never could they have imagined
a greater evil than that nameless party at the
zenith of a nations unspeakable history which
intelligence demands its name to be hidden here.

But now their names are lost
divided right to left and left to
Death.
To be a Jew was to wear a badge of honor
because we will never forget that
they were never allowed to play.




Holocaust Remembrance 2006
© Clinton Thomas 2006

Memories of Money

I had it once
It didn't stay around
It left soon after I had it
someone else needed to fill
empty pockets with my dough.