Bruises grip walls like moss;
white breath holds the air;
fog lulls our feet together.
We gather—hold our naked selves,
hands gripping arms and waists like twigs
sucking at the bitter nectar of new leaves.
Eyes close—fumigation flowers in wafts,
dews collect in the crevices of life—
The buzzing sings as a chamber choir.
Growing—clouds warm our thighs;
we sit so tight on this canopy.
Our gasping grabs at the sky,
but God throws his palm down;
storming rain flies ferociously,
our eyes flooding with prayer.
"April 19th 1945: Dachau, 16x16x12" first appeared in Aquinas College's The Sampler XXI in 2009, and was awarded an Honorable mention in the Academy of American Poets Contest for Colleges and Universities in 2009.