the Red Block of Saydnaya Prison

the Red Block

known also as Death Chambers,

a huge slaughterhouse for us humans,

sport no safe spots,

no friendly playgrounds,

no smiling children gossiping,

no lovers softly eyeing each other,

no fresh air,

no clean water,

and no football pitch for wildly cheering fans:

here,

underground with minimal light,

minimal sanitation,

minimal hope,

maximal cruelty.

here,

words unspoken,

blood soaked the dirt

after years of torment,

thousands of bodies crushed,

souls discarded,

where fathers sigh their final farewell

for a wife never to be held again,

for a cup of strong Arak never to be sipped

once more by the lips of a free man,

where hope is shackled

and tortured 

until the final moments of darkness.