Sacred spaces

The birds are singing here –
this April morning
chaffinches and blackbirds and tits
give a chorus of delight
and a wood pigeon has
found material to build
a nest and I wonder
was this song this music
rising then? April 1945
when a previous generations
of Americans entered here
this route I walk from
the barracks to the
crematorium
the land soaked in
disregard for due process
truth
honor
and I can’t help
but wonder
where the dog killer woman
prances in front of
men in cages will
El Salvador have a
place steeped
in the sacred too?

April 2025
Dachau