For Sasha

Here by my window in Germany A morning bird flies close to me On his wing I see a yellow star The lights are on in the factory The frost is hung on the linden tree And I remember where we are And I remember the holocaust I remember all we lost The families torn and the borders crossed And I sing of it now for Sasha A young German officer lies in his bed Bandages from toe to head A prisoner of the camps draws nigh If you are Abel and I am Cain Forgive me from my bed of pain I know not why we die It was I who ordered the building burned The job was over and as I turned A father and his son Caught in the flames high above the ground From cradled arms the boy looked down One leap and their lives were done And I remember the holocaust I remember all we lost The children gone and the borders crossed And I sing of it now for Sasha You in frozen streets of Heidelberg Your youth unbearded takes form in words And the ghosts of the past are kind For this was your university The years were long but the spirits free And your river runs to the Rhine The smoke filled taverns that you once roamed With the discontented who'd stayed at home You must have whiskey or you'll die The beer garden under the old chateau Our faces now in the candle glow See the memories how they shine But you remember the holocaust You remember all we lost The families torn and the borders crossed And we'll sing of it now for Sasha