The Showers
No air, no space, no light
water gone, food gone, people gone
He can’t take it much longer –
might go crazy.
He thinks it’s a dream,
a hallucination
the train has stopped.
Reality sets in as quickly
as it seemed to have faded.
The doors are ushered open
by bullets and shouting.
Left! Right! Stop! Leave it!
His dignity is stripped away with
every piece of clothing he takes off.
At least water is coming soon.
Do you think the guards would
notice if he drank some? They
would probably laugh at him.
No air, no space, no light
He holds on to the reassurance
of a shower when he should
be preparing for death.
His water never came,
the showerheads never
sputtered to life --
This was written in response to the horrors of the Holocaust: Jews transported in
cattle cars, told they were going to get showers, but then killed by way of gas.
Copyright © Lesley Brown | Year Posted 2011
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