In Emily Feder’s 11th grade Honors English class, students were asked to write villanelles. A villanelle is a poem in which certain lines are repeated for emphasis. Savanah chose to add an extra line to the end each stanza in order to better portray the story. In the poem, a young girl is hiding from the Nazis. Her father fought when found by the guards, and he was shot right before the girl’s eyes. After her father’s death, the girl hides in the closet of the home of an older woman who went out of her way to shelter the child illegally.
To Hide, Not Seek
Hungry, tired, worried, but I’d rather go blind.
Hidden in a closet, so cold, so dark, so tight.
Wishing someone, please, turn on a light.
Dear God, I hope it’s not me who they find.
The old woman protecting me, how brave, how kind
Religions not alike, hers safe, mine: not quite
Wondering maybe, she’d put up a fight
Hungry, tired, worried, but I’d rather go blind.
Maybe if daddy wasn’t so disinclined
To go to the camp, he’d still be alright
Now he left me with nothing but fright
Dear God, I hope it’s not me who they find.
I’ve yelled I’ve screamed I’ve kicked I’ve whined
Yet, hard as I tried, nothing’s made right
I was still in the closet, with many bug bites
Hungry, tired, worried, but I’d rather go blind.
I still sit here waiting to no longer be confined.
Don’t want to be killed at the camping site.
Then, they grab me and tell me: “say goodnight.”
Hungry, tired, worried, but I’d rather go blind.
Dear God, I hope it’s not me who they find