I feel a sense of unbalance -
The way you feel the need to dip your left hand in the water
After you've submerged your right.
Except for me; my sides are in and out.
My inside is full of sadness -
Long days and long faces...
Short smiles, but few imply any more
Than a small gift of hope to the next passerby
And a prayer of gratitude that at least they're alive.
My outside has more life in a day
Than the inside had in three years.
I can still feel them.
I can feel the pressure of the prints
Of those who pressed their hands against me,
Desperately wishing they were on my
Outside -
Of the longing stares that temporarily
Removed me from sight,
Because only through my invisibility
Could freedom be seen.
My inside still burns
From the physical attention;
My outside receives barely a passing glance anymore.
What is the difference between the Jews
That were on that side then
And the ones on this side now?
Only time
And too many painful memories to bear.
- The Wall of the Krakow Ghetto
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