The Old Jewish Couple Poem by Jan Oskar Hansen

I have written about this before but somehow didn't get it right
my perceived brusqueness made them think of Cracow they
had fled and all the relatives lost in the turbulence of a war where
they as civilians, but Jewish, had their life made into a nightmare.
There was a small sweet shop near my cafe, selling my chocolate with
nuts, so one day I walked in there to buy a bar, the man behind
The counter bent down and changed hat. His wife reached out and
tried to give me a sweet. Now the man had a Panama hat and no
words were spoken. I spoke English to them which eased the situation,
this tall Nazi looking person was not a ghost from the past, just
a person with a sweet tooth. I bought the chocolate, handshakes
told them was in business too had cafe near them, they didn't know
never left the house. The sweet shop didn't have many visitors
the chocolate I bought had been in the shop so long it was green.
But when I left the shop I felt they didn't want me to come back
I reminded them too much of the horror of Cracow.