
Photograph by Tim Milkins
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Still
Dachau
October 1978
Arbeit Macht Frei
Work will set you free
Still
In the Twilight quiet of the afternoon
We walked the prisoner’s path
We walked
Walked the camp
Past
The Bunkers
The Barracks
We breathed
The scent
Barbwired
The scent
It
Lingers
Still
in the twilight quiet of the afternoon
The ghosts of pale flames
MenWomenChildren
Pale flames
And piles of shoes
The scent
The scent lingers
Lingers
Still
In the twilight quiet of the afternoon
Showers
Baker’s ovens
Postcards
A shop of souvenirs
Silent pictures playing on the hour
Still
In the twilight quiet of the afternoon
We walked
And walked
We walked the prisoner’s path
We came upon a face
At the crematorium
Watching from a broken pane
We saw
A boy with rum ball eyes
Still watching
Watching the ghosts of pale flames
MenWomenChildren
Pale flames
And piles of shoes
Still
In the twilight quiet of the afternoon
.

m.f. nagel was born in anchorage Alaska, Her Athabaskan and Eyak heritage gave her a love of story. m.f. now lives and writes near the banks of the Matanuska river in the Palmer Butte, Alaska, where the moose, wild dog~ roses and salmonberries provide unending joy and inspiration.
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You can view photographs by Tim Milkens at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/milkinst/
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