The Acquistion

To prevent further damage
the permanent exhibit is displayed
behind glass; a striped shirt
and pants embody the spirit of Jews.

I want to break through the barrier, grasp
the thread of terror that held
human beings in the fold of time; slip
my arms through thin frayed sleeves, weep
for those whose ordinary life ceased.

Smoke saturated fabric, layered
in Jewish history, hangs
to reflect millions captured
as candles in glass; a memory of night.

The invisible body draped in remnants
of the Holocaust speaks as a survivor
without flesh and blood; a form, to question
and summon answers of the past.