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.