The Shoe

A beat-up shoe that’s toddler-sized
Has a sock that’s stuck inside.
We don’t know whose it was, but know
Its owner surely died.

It’s one of many artifacts
From Auschwitz on display
In the Heritage Museum*
Where I volunteered today.

The school groups come, we lead the tours;
They try to understand,
But really, how can anyone
Who hears it second-hand?

I speak into my microphone,
For all that I can do
Is to share the story of the child
Who left behind that shoe.

*The Museum of Jewish Heritage, currently
showing an exhibit entitled “Auschwitz: Not
Long Ago, Not Far Away”