Lullabies of the SonderKommando (1. The War Came: Mud or Bones)

It seemed simple to me,
just keep in a straight line
don't look anywhere but down.
Don't search out for friends
or family.
(Especially don't look them in the eyes).
And keep marching. Forward.
A hundred shivering saints,
all worn with bad shoes and
confusion stepping towards
what? A boat or a bus? A train?
A secret shtetl where we all can
continue, alone, left to our kind?
But don't look up to judge where
in fact, you are. Not left.
Not right. Not to G-D for hints.
just down.
Learn to look through the corners.
Learn what it is to notice potholes by
intuition.
To step over logs and branches without
looking at them.
Step over the bodies of
our elders, exhausted from the trip
and praying loudly as the youthful
try not to crush their bones
into the mud.