Jessica Smith's lovely remembrance of the Holocaust hero in her poem, "Elegy for Anne Frank," reminds us of the life that was ended so tragically. The poem begins by comparing Anne with "A sidewalk-surrounded flower / pushed up through the cracks." Like a flower straining for light and a place to stretch her roots, Anne was restricted to the lonely warehouse attic at a time when most teens were allowed to begin their adventurous world into adulthood. Anne "made family trees" as a way to comfort the others around her. Despite her captive life, Anne never gave up hope of eventually becoming free to continue her life, and "dreamed of the sun and / the love you'd find when the doors / of your prison were unlocked."
The writer absorbs Anne's diary completely, feeling "your heartbeat / pulse with my own," and in the end is "thankful" that Anne died before being executed. The poem serves as a heartfelt reminder of the hope and the gamut of emotions that Anne revealed through her diary.
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