A Naked Gaze

An elegy for those brutally murdered in Treblinka

Nude they stand in rows. Heads shaved.

Their lives are already over; stripped

of any last ounce of hope.

I watch them vanishing forward.

Woman after woman a vermin infestation.

Scrawny, bony, weak bodies.

They all sport the same uneven haircut

like animals dehumanized.

No shame no respect.

just a small glimpse

into the depth and complexity

catches my eye

I make eye contact with

one of the women.

I stare into her sad big brown eyes;

Suddenly I see the life she lived.

Her hopes and dreams sit there

neglected.

Her past was brazen with color

her happy childhood, mischievous nature.

Those eyes –

they tell me a story of what was

and is now ending.

A life lived.

This woman had fears,

Secret loves and heated hatred;

She had a name.

But now she stands in a line

with the rest of them

shivering bitter in the echoing cold.

NOTHING REMAINS

but those eyes

tossed into the darkness

Gas is released to mute the commotion.

Her eyes begin to shut –

she tries forcing them open –

but she fails in her attempt to savor what is left.

And those beautiful eyes shut –

never to be opened again.