Striped Pyjamas

The German boy stared at the fence
He stared at the boy in striped pyjamas
Dare he approach the small prisoner
His father in charge of the prison

Day after day he watched the smoke
The ovens worked overtime
Gathering courage, he approached
The barbed wire fence and the boy

The boy in striped pyjamas, why?
The German boy sat opposite
The small boy with shaved head
Looked up with sunken eyes

Day by day the German brought
Scraps of food from his ample table
The small boy began to speak
He was scared of the German

"Why do you sit with me, feed me?"
The German asked him why not
"My father is camp Commandant"
The small boy stuffed bread
He was starving

"Why do you wear striped pyjamas?
The German boy asked him
"I am a Jew, a prisoner who will die"
The friendship had begun

Everyday the German went to his friend
They both dug furiously under the wire
Finally, on sundown the German
Wriggled under the fence

Exchanging clothes, the German
Wearing striped pyjamas
Followed the rest into the camp
The Jewish boy watched with tears

It was time to put the prisoners through
The oven's flames
Jews must be exterminated
The German Commandant cried

"Where is my boy, where is he?"
The Jewish boy pointed