You are man-made,

    just as I was,

But you’ve existed 

    for longer than I.

You held captive

    millions of innocent Jews.

You stood silent sentinel

    amidst snow-bound gulags.

You remained indifferent

    to citizenship robbed Japanese.

You form barriers

    to mark national boundaries,

So many, thirsting for freedom

    may not pass.

You are a vile creation,

    designed to harm.

Yet you have no opinions,

    no thoughts or cares.

But while you may truly

    cage my body,

You cannot cage

    my spirit.

As they sang in Dachau,

    at Auschwitz, in the gulags,

On Robbin Island,

    Alcatraz, and Rikers,

My mind is free!