Chuck Brodsky Lili's Braids
The house he was born in was only next door
His country had vanished, his people no more
Out in the garden some little boys played
He'd only come back to retrieve Lili's braids
The neighbors were home, to their word they were true
They'd kept them safe like they said they would do
Despite any orders they might've obeyed
It was righteous of them to have kept Lili's braids
Word had come down that the Germans were near
They had taken a village a few miles from here
There was no place to run, there was no place to hide
It was no longer safe to be going outside
Whispers of horrors, what they did to the Jews
Sorting into piles their clothing and shoes
At the railway station, shaving their heads
Taking the hair to make pillows and beds
Lili's hair had never been cut
The curtains were drawn and the doors were shut
It had hung to her knees just moments before
The braids would be safe with the people next door
Lili's mother quietly prayed
She said, “Come here child, don't be afraid
I promise you one day we'll pin them back on
After the war, when the soldiers are gone”
The house he was born in was only next door
Lili's brother returned sometime after the war
They were all he had left...how heavy they weighed
Maybe not as much now that he'd retrieved Lili's Braids