Responding to a Poem

Holocaust
by Barbara Sonek

We played, we laughed
we were loved.
We were ripped from the arms of our
parents and thrown into the fire.
We were nothing more than children.
We had a future. We were going to be lawyers, rabbis, wives, teachers, mothers.
We had dreams, then we had no hope. We were taken away in the dead of night

 like cattle in cars, no air to breathe smothering, crying, starving, dying.
Separated from the world to be no more. From the ashes,

 hear our plea. This atrocity to mankind can not happen again. Remember us, 
for we were the children whose dreams and lives were stolen away.




1. Construct a response to this poem using the same style and structure. 

2. Be mindful of your perspective. Your poem should be from your perspective.

3. Utilise the same techniques employed by the author.

We laughed, we played, we had fun,
like children who had no problems in life
who can grow up and become lawyers, doctors, teachers
Then we read and watched the stories 

with the past that contained your deaths

and we cried, we were shocked and we are sorrowful

we feel that our lives are more meaningful than ever thanks to 
your sacrifice for the children of the future 

We are the ones who must tell your story to the world 

and I feel that I must let my kids understand your pain and your suffering

So that the future ahead does not mirror the past