The Tale of a Sprinter in the Winter of 1938
THE PAST -
I am an athlete from Berlin,
my feet are fast and swift.
I can run faster than anyone.
Truly, this is the Lord's gift!
Any race I participate in,
I always come in first,
for I tell myself, "I HAVE to win";
it is like a great thirst.
Even if someone, somehow passes me,
I put on an extra burst of speed
and run past him, leaving him behind;
thus, I take the lead.
I once thought, "If I keep running this way,
I might be in the Olympics, some day."
THE PRESENT -
But now the year is nineteen-thirty-eight
And for my dreams, it's just too late.
My running days are all gone,
I'm not going to see tomorrow's dawn.
Yes, it is true
that I can run very fast;
But it is also true
that I'm a Jew...
There's no running from the Holocaust.
- Sudeep Pagedar, 2005
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