There was no prayer in the camps. Hope and belief hadbeen scorched out of every man long ago. It was soobvious it stuck out like the bones that protruded fromthe faces of prisoners as they waited for their time toexpire, for a finger to be pointed, and for their bodies tofall. The end was so close but we were carried away on acaravan of days and it seemed as if we would liveforever. During this period a new form of petitioning theUnacknowledged One was created. Those who were tooweak to recite their request did so by urinating into thefrozen snow. They left one line to represent a stick manand a second line crossing it out.
we are the drowning menwho have never spoken your nameour lives ended long agowhen we were pulled from our homesour bodies have been slow in receiving the messagethey fight on without knowing
we are waiting in these campsfor death to arrivewe have no fearsexcept that we may surviveto meet another day another memoryif you are the Ruler the Power and the Source of Mercyplease, please, take us now
even in this dark placewe have never acknowledged youor lit a clump of waxto illuminate your nameour voices are strange to your earbut this is not a prayer but a pleafrom men who have reached the bottomand continue to drown
