The Horror Of Horrors Has Not Happened To Me Poem by Shalom Freedman

THE HORROR OF HORRORS HAS NOT HAPPENED TO ME

The horror of horrors has not happened to me-
No Palestinian terrorist entered my house and stabbed my wife and myself to death
And slit the throat of our three year old child
And put a knife in the heart of our three- month old baby-
No tsunami came and swept our house and world away -
No Nazi pulled my beard kicked me and laughed
Before shooting my head off -
No I have not known the violent death which today and yesterday
And so many days before
Has taken innocent people from this world-

I don’t know what it is
It has never happened to me
And yet
And yet
I fear and fear more
That there is no end to this kind of evil
And even if I make it to a quiet deathbed exit
There is no future guarantee against more and more horror and evil -

We live in a world
Too sad and frightening for us
And however fortified by lessons from the past
There is no defence against the next evil surprise -
Oh God I pray to You with all my heart
But I still fear also.