The Mounds

70 words Poetry

Author's note: I challenged myself to delve into the depths of the word 'Pile' inspired by Miguel S. challenge. Writing with just 70 words proved both challenging and inspiring, evoking an instant reaction that continually stimulates me. A brief yet powerful poem, shaping words into arrows that strike the heart and linger in memory. When I finished writing this poem, I felt an ache in my soul.

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Image designed by the author, using Artificial Intelligence

Smoke, fog,
and a blinding smell,
a silence like a distante eerie whisper,
piles of hair and old clothes,
one by one,
then another on top of the others,
lots of ones and others,
an amorphous heap,
faces with sunken, empty eyes,
hearts without names, pasts, or dreams,
just cold piles of skin and bones,
hidden from view by the damp earth,
that's how they built
endless mounds in Auschwitz

©Rolando Andrade, 2025

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