(On a railcar siding outside Oswiecim, Poland 12/11/1943)



Our captors did not care that we had nothing left to eat,
No blankets or warm clothing locked in this boxcar with no heat.
My old father’s face was turning grey; his hands and cheeks felt numb.
He needed somehow to get warm or else he would succumb.

Everything we had, they had taken from us, for we were “Untermenschen”.
Our tabernacles are overthrown; A disarmed people couldn't prevent them.
We had no great illusions of what our fate would be:
We would be starved and worked to death for ******’s Germany.

Something in my soul cried out; I cannot reason why.
Somehow I was determined that my father must not die.
I set about to warm him; I massaged his hands and feet.
To keep his life’s blood flowing I knew I must not sleep.

Grey morning dawned; still bitter cold, as sharp as any knife.
Our companions had all froze to death, each yielding up their life
Only we two survived the night to see another dawn.
With some envy, we surveyed our friends who now were dead and gone


Somehow I survived the camps until the Russians came.
Out of all my family, I, alone, remained.
In time I immigrated to this land, a place considered free.
Be vigilant, my children; beware repeating history.

Thank you, Lord, for the simple pleasures of this autumn day.
My morning coffee’s aroma still lingers in the air.
I sit and watch as a troupe of skiffs navigate the windy bay
And the mighty oak beside my house begins to shed its care.

I can just imagine being out there at the helm,
In that lead boat, dancing with the wind,
as it skirts the border of King Neptune’s realm.
Alas, I am old, too old now to realistically begin.

My pet dog, Shannon, sneaks his head
beneath my hand; It is his invitation to a walk.
I fit his leash with my gnarled arthritic hands.
He strains to lead and guides me to the park.

The wind is strong; I’m thankful for the Sun
who does his part to ease the winter chill.
The days when Sun is absent soon will come,
But I am happy as autumn lingers still.

I looked in the mirror and what did I see?
A rapidly aging simulacrum of me.
My hair has turned Gray, such as can be found.
and a lifetime of coffee has turned my teeth brown.

The muscles of youth have shriveled. I'm told.
It all part and parcel of a man growing old.
"Old age is not for wimps " A wise aunt once told me.
That knowledge is great but it fails to console me.

Am I the same person I was when I was young?
Would he recoil in horror to see what he'd become?
Was the Buddha perspicacious when he made the call
that the self called the self is no self at all?

Some scientists say that the self is an illusion.
A purely biochemical source of confusion.
A look in the mirror has me posing this question:
Who is the victim of this selfish delusion?

The wind is moaning low tonight;
the sound of souls who cannot sleep.
It is said they walk the Earth tonight,
though they are buried six feet deep.
A shadow moves across a wall,
Is it a specter of one undead?
Such childish thoughts infect our minds,
giving birth to fear and dread.
On this night, when spirits walk the streets,
some are demanding tricks or treats.
Is that some clarion call from Hell?
No, just some kids who rang our bell.

She still looks like herself.
They’ve removed the bandages and the drain.
They’ve moved her out of the I.C.U.
She is taking steroids and something for the pain.

Now the long battle must begin
To regain something of all she lost.
To learn to speak and to converse,
It has to happen despite the cost.

We show her pictures in a frame,
Or her wedding book from off the shelf.
In hopes that she’ll remember names;
Yes, even what she calls herself.

She knows her birthday, that she’ll repeat;
Like a captured soldier who had been trained
to give name, rank and serial number.
At least one fact has been retained.

There is intelligence in her eyes
And now she repeats what others say
It’s how small children learn to speak
Repeating what their mothers say.

She was a woman very much in control;
Gracious, kind and worldly wise.
All overthrown by traitorous cells;
If she is to live they, all, must die.

The future is uncertain
And the prognosis has been bleak.
The odds are against her.
She grows frail and weak.

Yet even should she lose this fight,
And depart this world of pills and pain,
The sweet sound of my sister’s voice
In memory echoing shall remain.

We were in orbit around Titan
when old Sol breathed her last.
The yellow dwarf began to swell
burning off the last of her hydrogen gas.

We wept as Sol expanded out
And swallowed up her young
All the rocky planets died
swallowed by the Sun.

Everyone I’d ever loved,
In a twinkling, were consumed
And every place on Earth I’d known
shared in their day of doom.

Our modest crew, the remnant
of all Eve’s progeny.
Set our course to a nearby star
to seek our destiny.

Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we laughed away the hours
And dreamed of all the great things we would do

[Chorus]
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
For we were young and sure to have our way
La la la la...

[Verse 2]
Then the busy years went rushing by us
We lost our starry notions on the way
If by chance I'd see you in the tavern
We'd smile at one another and we'd say

[Chorus]
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days
La la la la...


[Verse 3]
Just tonight I stood before the tavern
Nothing seemed the way it used to be
In the glass I saw a strange reflection
Was that lonely woman really me

[Chorus]
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days
La la la la...

[Verse 4]
Through the door there came familiar laughter
I saw your face and heard you call my name
Oh my friend we're older but no wiser
For in our hearts the dreams are still the same

[Chorus]
Those were the days my friend
We thought they'd never end
We'd sing and dance forever and a day
We'd live the life we choose
We'd fight and never lose
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days
La la la la...