The Book Case Copyright © Rob Lock 2011

As we queued to get to Ann Frank’s annex,
shuffling between Germans, Japanese, Israelis,
I looked to see which titles had been chosen
for the shelves put in to hide the giveaway stairs.
Encyclopaedias? Goethe, Tolstoy,
Anderson and Grimm in uniform editions?
Or the obvious cunning of The Bible and 'Mein Kampf'?

Just twenty-three Uniplex files and three brown boxes,
presumably containing archived orders, receipts,
delivery notes; recipes featuring Opekta spices
in the finest of sausages, beef and pork;
their pectin in jam, made from fruit
picked by young girls cycling out of town on Sundays.

Note:
Ann’s father owned Opekta, a company selling pectin and spices.