More vast than I ever imagined
The skeletons of structures stretch out in every direction
Lone brick chimneys
And wooden posts
Tall and narrow – bent at at the top
In front of me the train tracks
On which so many people
Came here never to leave again
Extend toward
The warped structure of what was once a gas chamber
Now a tent of cement and brick
Where so many humans were slaughtered
Clear blue sky
Crisp, cold summer day
It almost seems
Wrong.
When you saw this place, did you know what it was?
When the gates closed behind you,
Did you know they would never open?
How many lights went out here
Some just lit
A flame that glows for a moment
before being extinguished.
And only darkness remains
Cut short in gas chambers
Their bodies burned
Ashes raining down
This is the end of a million stories.
