2026 Poetry Runner-Up: "A History of Kranz" by Isabelle Greenemeyer
A History of Kranz
I heard about the Holocaust from my mom,
photos of my grandfather deep in trenched files,
she loathed his nose and stature, passed on to her
from weaved tactical ancestry lines.
We came through Ellis Island, travelled before the war.
Our name transcribed in stone, we all survived.
I learned about the Holocaust from my Catholic grade school,
Mrs. Roberts told us the Catholics were persecuted,
but there was no mention of Jews.
I was told Hitler preferred light hair and eyes,
Would my blue eyes have saved me?
The Kranz family is Jewish, the Greats all dead.
Grandpa won’t talk, our history, a taboo.
I watched discussions about the Holocaust unfold in high school,
when no one seemed to know the severity,
when boys would make jokes about gas chambers.
He’s dead now and no one knows our origin.
What country did we come from?
I watch my body change and tell stories of my relatives,
When I have kids will they hold those genes?
I, who have never been to temple, never learned of our past
I, who don’t carry the last name.
