by Nick Gisburne
They burned us to ashes and buried our dust
Our children, our families, slaughtered in spite
Remember our faces, remember, you must
The window-panes, smashed, though they said it was just
A city of glass turned to crystal at night
They burned us to ashes and buried our dust
Condemned to the ghettos, uncaring, unjust
Despised undesirables, hidden from sight
Remember our faces, remember, you must
Not human, worth only contempt and disgust
And after the trains, in the camps, in the night
They burned us to ashes and buried our dust
Their Final Solution, a frenzied blood lust
The world could not save us, and we could not fight
Remember our faces, remember, you must
Old empires have fallen, in ruin and rust
But we are the memories, we are the light
They burned us to ashes and buried our dust
Remember our faces, remember, you must
Written for Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 January 2020, which marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
We must all remember.
