Stolperstein - Stumbling Stones

Of all the memorials I've come across Acknowledging heartbreak and sorrow and loss, The stolperstein dotting the streets of Berlin Have reminded me most of what shouldn't have been. These bricks made of brass are the work of one man* Who, as part of a project, came up with a plan To commemorate victims the Nazis had taken Away from their homes, where their lives were forsaken. In English, the "stumbling stones," as they're called, Are carefully crafted and later installed In front of the buildings where Jews did reside And were forcibly moved though they pleaded and cried. Each brick (there are thousands) has name, age and date Of the person who lived there and suffered the fate Of a horrible torturous lead-in to death; Inscribed, too, are camps where they took their last breath. Memorial sculptures and artworks abound Wherever a Holocaust victim's been found But to me, these brass bricks are the most poignant yet And an image I know I will never forget. *Guenther Demnig