Dec. 1942
Toy soldiers lined up perfectly
Not questioning why they must execute their given duty
Guns in hand
they tremble

not so perfect as they seem
Silently wishing one of them would defy
the horrific order given
so they would not have to dream
in blood
waking up screaming

every night
because the haunted faces of the children
they have killed
reside in their nightmares

Ringing out the bells
one
for every lost child





mother




father





loved one
The innocent line up and feel the impending doom
they have seen this moment in their dreams
Not fighting the inevitable
only wishing one of the toy soldiers
would weep in their defense
be joined in their sorrow
grow a heart, feel again
for they have been taught to forget
how to feel

An angry voice shouts orders
at his soldiers
he is the boy
who plays with them
killing, his passion
fear, his game

The cruel voice comes again
and one of his soldiers silently cries
to the relief of the innocents
each tear becoming a frozen crystal
on his young face

from the unbearable cold
The innocent wear only rags, if anything
But the man in charge of the soldiers wears a mountain of furs
one innocent cries out

saying he is mad
for wearing fur

when they are freezing
The man in charge laughs
a cruel and sadistic sound
coming from the place
that is supposed to hold your soul

The voice comes again, wilder this time
and the toy soldiers gaze at the innocents
whose eyes are closed in silent prayer
A single moment proceeds them
It is so long


so tense

so anxious
so painful
the wait for fate is worse than fate itself


And suddenly,
shots fired
The innocents collapse
drowning in a sea of their own blood
cries of anguish echo through the frozen courtyard
More shots to silence them
men
women
elderly
children
none are spared in this massacre to faith
the soldiers close their eyes while shooting
they do not wish to see what they have done

But the man in control forces them to see
Tells them to look
A pile of emaciated




frozen


bloodless




hopeless





bodies

is all they are met with
And the man laughs
And his soldiers cry
not so perfect as they seem