Always Watched

Glass walls separated departments:

Conveyor Belt,

Control Section,

Gunpowder,

Machine Shop.

Every department watched by:

SS guards,

Kapos,

Meisters,

Overseers.

The day scheduled:

Break in the morning

To use the toilet,

Break at noon

To eat lunch,

Break in the afternoon

To use the toilet.

The only place

We were not watched

Was the lavatory

Where women lingered

To gossip

Make exchanges,

Bread for cigarettes,

Gather information.

Sometimes it was too crowded

To use the toilet.

I kept my head down

Focused on my work.

Tried not to think

Of the soldiers

Who would be killed

With the bullets

I was making.