His Only Witness

The stench of burning flesh diffused across the diminutive rooms horded with individuals
Humans were tossed in to fiery pits as to destroy the remnants of the slaughtering
Men were transformed in to sheer skeletons as all was lost to them
They became vicious animals, merely victims of horrendous circumstance
Children, too, turned in to skin and bone, not an ounce of fat left in them
The vulnerable were left to struggle in the battle for survival

Living carcasses were compelled to perform the tasks at hand
They trudged along, striving to perform their duties, while staring straight in to the eyes of Death
They welcomed him, for he was a daily visitor
He strolled through the deadly gas chambers, tossing beings in to his arms
His work was quite heavy, strenuous even, these days
He would often pass those corpses that lived, and he would hear them calling his name
They would beg for him
“Take us with you; have mercy,” they pleaded
He would only look at them in pity, for he was at loss for what actions to take
They were living, breathing on the exterior
On the inside, they were as dead as could be
Cold, hard, incapable of emotion,
Simply hanging on the thread which determines life and death

One elderly man stood at the end of the lengthy line of breathing carcasses on the journey
returning to the factory
His pace began to slow, his legs moving leisurely
An officer called to him, threatening
The end was near, the time had come, the man knew
He had known already, for he had been prepared to stare in to Death’s eyes long before
He deliberately came to a halt and looked at the officer with a certain poise
He breathed in his last breathe and held his hands in to the air, ready to die

A shot rang, sending a deafening echo in to the still atmosphere
The man’s body collapsed unto the rock-strewn ground

Death came down to Earth once more
He looked at the neglected body lying on the bare soil
Grabbing the soul from the empty corpse,
He began his journey to heaven, with the soul, who had bared much burden, draped
unto his shoulder

Death was his savior.
He was his only witness.