Throbbing, pounding, palpitating, and rapid
All around me I feel fear
Surrounding me are others in fear
The rally horn is blown
My heart skips a beat

We all line up
One after another
In columns of twenty
And rows of ten
The Nazis are speaking
I do not know what they are saying
I feel frail, I struggle to stand
Beside me an old man collapses to the ground
I know that his demise is now inevitable
My heart skips a beat

As the old man is hauled away
They continue to scream
I do not know what they say
The only thing I hear and feel
Is the pulse of my heart.
The blood flowing through my veins
I am still alive
But for how much longer?
The Commandant holds up a pistol
My heart skips a beat

Sweat drips from my brow
But I dare not wipe it
A slip up as diminutive as this
Can cause execution
Why do they do this?
Why do they follow the lunacy of Hitler?
None of us know
I hear a gunshot
My heart skips a beat

Back in the barracks
Lying uncomfortably on rigid, bitter wood
I listen to the beating of my heart
It’s the only thing I still have
And reflect upon my life prior to this
I remember my bed
It was a soft mattress
With two velvety pillows
In my cozy, sheltered room
My mother and father only one room down from me
Now ad infinitum apart
This was two years ago
Those days are forever vanished
Next to me, a perspiring man coughs ferociously
My thoughts are interrupted
My heart skips a beat

The S.S hammers on the door and enters
These people are cruel, brutal, and merciless
They take life when they want
And there is nothing that can be done
They come over to my bunk
And force the ill man onto the floor
They shot him dead without hesitation
And left him where he lied
To become rancid and compel us all to madness
My heart skips a beat

This is what they do
To human life on a daily basis
The agony seems to have no end in sight
The next day we are all awoken by an ear piercing noise
I roll out of my inhumane wooden shelter, which offers no sanctuary
To find the same man, decomposing on the floor
We are forced to go outside into the astringent cold
We are made to march, held together like sheep by sheep dogs
Like cattle going to a slaughter house
Helpless like a chick in the jaws of a fox
Far off noises like thunder shake the camp
My heart skips a beat

We are brought to an edifice
And pushed inside
They tell us to strip
What else can we do but obey?
Devoid of clothing, freedom, dignity, and honor
They have taken everything away from us that makes us human beings
Made our lives obsolete
Make us feel less significant than dust
Herded into a dim, cold room, naked and petrified
The doors are shut behind us with a smash
Powder falls from the ceiling
The mob of people let out a bellow of terror
My heart skips a beat…

And seizes to beat again