my voice
cracks
as i
say the
word
bucha
like
auschwitz
birkenau
rwanda
or a thousand
other tragedies
we watched
unfold
promising
ourselves
this time
would be
different
promising
ourselves
WE
would be
different
when we
aren’t
better
than
a public
execution
WE
cannot
learn to be righteous
and ignore
beheadings
in the street.
Ⓒ Ben Ditmars 2022