Memory Shouldn’t Be…

by Frank Ochberg, MD

June, 1993

Memory
Shouldn’t be
Shards of a broken dream
Secret pain
Shouldn’t strain
Breathlessly to scream
I know the where
I know the when
I know the who too well
Believe me or believe me not
I have a truth to tell

But Mother, if you cannot hear
I’ll keep your peace
A day, a year. Forever
Your doubt and fear
Convinces me to silence

Your Honor, if the proof you seek
Is rusted, lost
Too old, too weak, forgotten
Then I shall not speak
Dismiss my plea with silence

It matters not who hears the voice
Once I have understood
The thunder of the truth untold
Will echo in the wood
And judges naked in their robes
Will shudder at the gate
How thin the cloth of innocence
Against the chill of hate

Memory
Shouldn’t be
Shards of a broken dream
Secret pain
Shouldn’t strain
Breathlessly to scream
I know the where
I know the when
I know the who too well
Believe me or believe me not
I have a truth to tell