My Name is ___

Noah Sonabend

They ask me what my name is.

They ask me who I am.

Who am I? I say,

My answer is the same every time.

I am Noah, I tell them,

Sonabend.

That one word pleases them all, eases their questions.

But does that word please me?

How can I be pleased when I know im hiding the truth,

Hiding who I am.

Who am I? they ask.

And for once, I tell them

I am Noah Sonabend, child of Mike and Rona, and a brother to Mia.

I am a link in a long chain of survivors,

From the days my Bubby spent suffering in a concentration camp,

To the ship,

Carrying my great-grandfather away from the life he knows,

And the Family he loves.

I am shaped by the stories passed down to me,

And the traditions carried through my family tree,

A tree dotted with the names of people,

Who one day,

I hope to be.

I am Noah Sonabend, a boy trying to find his confidence,

In a world where confidence is the one thing we have left.

I am Noah Sonabend

A member of a loving family,

A family based on the love and trust of all its members,

Young or Old

I am Noah Sonabend,

A proud Jew in a society where Jews are looked at with disgrace

A look that I use as the fuel,

To make my ancestors proud

I am Noah Sonabend,

A 15-year-old, who knows what he is capable of,

Capable of changing the world.