Where No Birds Sing

Where No Birds Sing

A pallid sun shines fitfully upon the rows of wire encircled huts

Where no birds sing

Upon the skeletal forms. Men, women, children huddled together for warmth

In the cold morning air

                    In black and white striped flimsy clothes

Hungry and hopeless, fearful of what might come

In that dread place

Where no birds sing…

Upon the guards,. Jackbooted cruel men. Passing amongst them, choosing randomly

Oh`God Please don’t choose me,  they pray. Spare me my life

Where no birds sing

Upon the building’s chimney. Acrid smoke billowing, fouling the air

The long, reluctant, shuffling queue Filing into the place where many go but none return

Where no birds sing.

A guard selects a mother and her child,  They stand in line

Her husband joins them but is pulled away

He is the tailor. Makes the uniforms Not expendable. His family are.

And no birds sing.

Time passes on and in the Austrian alps The birds sing sweetly o’er the eagles nest

Unoccupied .It’s tespot owner gone

Thanks be to God for the uneasy peace

So much achieved and so much more to do

For still are lands where no birds sing