By Gene Novogrodsky

“Hospital zone, quiet,”
And I’ve learned to read, so I run out of
My uncle’s grip and across the street,
Safe, away from the hospital sign.

I see rabbis, ministers and priests
Shaking hands in synagogue and church
Entrances, services over …
And I cross the street
Away from those synagogues, temples and churches ….

“So this fear?
Where does it come from?”

…nothing I want to examine, nothing ….