Through the Open Window

I had to go; to see it for myself, as difficult as that experience was going to be. At one point, as we moved among the barracks at Auschwitz, I came to this open window. I was struck immediately by the symbolism of that open window, suggesting to me the hope of escape and freedom. I wondered how many lost souls once stood in that spot gazing out of that same window dreaming of an alternative reality; one that placed them beyond the wire and the tower that were clearly visible within its frames. This poem attempts to tell that story. You will immediately recognize my debt to Ambrose Bierce’s Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. It seemed to me the perfect vehicle for telling this story as well.

Through the open window

and down the spotlight path,

far beyond the darkened tower

and the shrouded sentry’s wrath.

I float above the humming wires

to the copse of trees beyond,

where the air is damp and fresh

with my soul I will abscond.

For so long I’ve contemplated

this final moment of release,

to taste the dew of freedom

from the horrors that never cease.

To rejoin the living world

and leave all fear behind,

with the promise of tomorrow

we will repair our lives in time.

So come at last sweet sanctuary

I reach out and touch your face,

just as the iron doors clang

and they rip me from your grace.