The refugees from the Nazis and us

The refugees of the past

are (always) dealt with more compassion,

understanding and warmth

than those of today,

in rubber dinghies sailing the Mediterranean blue,

shivering in tent camps' limbo.

Feeling close to those who have died long ago,

their graves tended with some care,

distancing us from the bodies

the waves push on the beaches,

the unwanted from the sea's embrace;

fooling ourselves thinking that back then,

with those other refugees,

we would have acted differently.

20.08.2016