Children of Survivors

To my mind, there are two kinds of people: Those who are Holocaust survivors and those who aren’t

To my mind, there are two kinds of survivors: The ones who never talk about it,
and the ones who cannot stop.

And then, it seems, there are two kinds of survivors who talk about it: the ones who say “I am lucky” and the ones who say “Why me”? Sometimes they might say both.

And (also) then, there are two kinds of survivors who don’t talk about it:
the ones who act like it is still happening and the ones who act like nothing ever happened.

There are also those who at first did not speak, and then, finally did.

And perhaps those who initially spoke and then decided, for any or no reason, to stop.

But—
There is really only one kind of Child of Survivor:
The one who defeats Hitler every day, by way of his very existence.

About the Author

Chana holds an M.S. in Special Education. Her innovative poems, essays and lectures reflect two and a half decades of experience working with students of all ages and abilities. Chana's writing has been published on Chabad.org, meaningfullife.com as well as in The Canadian Jewish News, The Jewish Press, and AMI. As a longtime volunteer with the Friendship Circle, Chana was recognised by the Ontario Legislature for “bringing a smile to the faces of children with special needs.” Although Chana 's "heart is in the east" she currently lives with her with her family in Toronto.