Dresden, February 13-15, 1945

he saw dead people
seated in their streetcar,
unused destination tickets folded in laps
forever lost in thought.

there were no secret military codes
littering the basement floor
when more burnt bodies were found
in early February, 1945.

an apartment bedroom became a tomb
when the old stone walls of a cultural center
without glass windows
collapsed under the savage German clouds.

it wasn't Slaughter House 5
where most human remains were seen
by those who were looking for answers,
but found only mountains of debris.

at an empty church and a smoking pile of books
where Vonnegut was told to load a small wagon
with a broken-down piano,
he heard a military plane flying low overhead.

nearby, a small group of hungry people wanted to shout,
but remained speechless.

soon, they began to weep.