• "Miserable Camp"
    by T.N. Bailey

    This morning,
    I awoke,
    To a foul and familiar stench.
    Incinerated flesh.
    I was particularly lucky on this day,
    I was not made a victim of abuse.
    Today,
    I saw a thin pale woman,
    Not too much older than myself,
    She was raped,
    and forced to dance at gunpoint,
    For the entertainment of dogs.
    Eventually, she collapsed,
    And from that moment on,
    Became one with the toxic earth.
    Tonight,
    I saw a frail elderly man,
    Being kicked around the work yard,
    To quench a demon's thirst for blood.
    Eventually, a bullet,
    Begging for its release,
    Kissed the skull of the poor old man.
    This morning,
    I awoke,
    Not to a putrid stench,
    But to a relieving statement.
    They've announced over the intercom,
    That my section will be permitted to shower.
    Standing in line here with the other men,
    The doors the black abyss open before me,
    And I now realize one simple truth.
    Death....
    It is inevitable,
    In this miserable camp.