The sun rose today
There is still a haunting in my veins
Trauma is a consistent friend
Etching my hearts shape
The birds sang today
I’m still in the ghetto
Then the camp
Then the cattle car
Trapped.
A cardinal perched outside my window
Red and ornate, cheerful
I still see the blood
Of the ones who fought back.
The wind blew today
Cherry blossoms performing a dervish before me
I remember dancing, then stopping
Then being afraid to lift a fingertip
My breath a prisoner in a half-inflated lung
Don’t breathe…
Breathe, I tell myself
It’s springtime
It’s over
And I’m still scared
The warm sun caresses my tremoring soul
I gaze up
I am far from whole
It’s over
Until I close my eyes tonight
Then it’s as real
As the ink upon my skin.