Freedom Flight

He stood shivering in the biting cold Shreds of dirty, flimsy clothes clung to his frame All around his fellow skeletons huddled Waiting for the inevitable walk to that sinister place His wait had been longer than most He had been subjected to terrible cruelty He had seen all of his friends and family go Yet in his mind he had remained free His physical torment seemed detached when lost in his memories His little girl chasing her puppy in the bright sunshine Friends and relatives around the festive table laughing, chatting, eating Walking hand-in-hand with his beloved around the moonlight lake But the freezing wind jolted him back to the hellish reality He looked towards the barbed-wire fence which bounded his world There sat on the top wire was a little bird It sang the sweetest of tunes seemingly just for him It looked at him as it sang with such innocence And then with a flutter of its tiny wings It swooped towards him, turned and glided back over the fence It pecked at the hard earth before flying into the woods beyond He knew it was his time Into that building he trudged But he had a strange sense of elation Closing his eyes at last he was free The morning light shone brightly The little bird was at his side It guided him on as they soared through the sky With the shackles of hell cast aside freedom now prevailed He and the little bird would never go back to that place again ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz on 27 January 1945. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2nd place in 'Flight Two' Poetry Premiere Contest, Sponsor Chantelle Anne Cooke