The Angel of Block 10

The Angel of Death in crisp uniform;
A skull on his cap; his eyes laced with scorn -
Whistling an aria he gets to play God
While he directs this macabre façade.

Deciding fates with a sweep of his hand;
None who alight comprehend what's been planned
For those selected to go to Block 10;
Guinea pigs for one of Hitler's henchmen.

Hunting for twins amidst the arrivals;
Being a pair could mean their survival.
They're sent to his lab; Romani and Jew;
They might pray for death before he is through.

Young victims of Mengele's human zoo;
Innocents; children - the chosen few.
They call him Uncle; he takes them for rides
Before he dissects them; tears their insides.

Doctors look down upon them in disdain;
Subhuman objects to study and maim.
This mock'ry of science is just a disguise;
Endeavours to back up the Führer's lies.

They aim to build a superior race -
Their dream; our nightmare; a crime; a disgrace;
It's nothing but slaughter - thousands die here
Afflicted; butchered each day of the year.

Doctors ignoring their small victims' pleas
While they commit their nefarious deeds.
Mengele stands with a gleam in his eyes
As he injects theirs with blue-coloured dyes.

Needles; syringes for blood transfusions -
Dreadfully devised mass executions.
He conjoined the twins, Nina and Dieter;
Stitched back to back; it could not be neater.

In Auschwitz Birkenau life is dirt cheap;
Bleak, broken bodies are stacked in a heap.
Suffering written on each starving face,
Robbed of life's blood in this infernal place.

The dark angel rules this kingdom of death;
A demon who sucks up innocent breath.
Cold walls imprison their screams and their fears
Whilst Heaven looks down and weeps holy tears.

This poem was a finalist in the March 2012 poetry contest