Absolution

My fingers are torn and bleeding My skin has shrunk to my bones I have no strength, such is my hunger Starvation is cruel and unyielding And the cold, always the cold Their is no heat here in Ho8 'The tunnels below the earth'. I swing my pick axe, and a Small piece of rock falls at my feet It is not enough; they are angry The blows from their sticks Fall upon my shoulders I tell myself I am immune! But I am not, and it hurts I feel unbearable pain Would my mama recognise me now? The once proud son she bore? I think not; I cry out for her Mama, mama! And they beat me once more. Close by an explosion echoes Showering us in red sandstone dust Now we are not so different Brothers; eyes locked in fear For they have a mama too. The heavy sound of footsteps Cuts into the moment; they are panicking I am hauled to my feet And forced to join the slow moving ranks Of the lost souls of men Slaves of the German Third Reich Leaving their dead behind. The passage is long and the way unstable An old man slips and falls Amongst the polished boots Desperately his fingers clasp my ankle He calls to me 'Comrade, I beg of you' I ignore him and shake him free In my single-mindedness to reach the light. Oh! Such bitter sweet relief To taste the sweet, sweet air I close my eyes and am lost in its freedom My mind elsewhere; I see papa! Working the land of my birth But no; it is the old man that is there! Oh my papa! My papa! Forgive me! I couldn't help him! Dear God, I couldn't help him! And as the evening sky descends upon me I fall to my knees in repentance My darkness is absolute. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Footnote: This poem is for all those who suffered, and for those who lost their lives in the construction of the 'Hohlsgangsanlagen' - What we know today as The Jersey War Tunnels/Underground Hospital - during the German occupation of the Channel Islands.