Editor’s Note: Kerry Arquette’s book of poems, War Cries: Unheard Voices, Unmarked Graves is now available for pre-order here.

The Holocaust Newspaper via artistkerryarquette.com

There is a place a world away

Where a man may journey after his toils are through.

Without the weight of guilt or blame or passion or pain

His soul rises like a leaf born on the gentlest breeze.

And as the earth falls below, the air becomes clean and clear.

Sounds fade to the whirr of a hummingbird’s wings.

Odors of life and death dilute, then, disappear.

From this ethereal tower that dwarfs the tallest mountain peaks,

One can view the enormous mosaic of mankind–

From time’s conception to the clock’s most recent tick.

A man may find his soul space in this scheme,

Gaining perspective on his contribution to the rich and riotous whole.

And then he will know if his life has been well-lived or wasted,

And whether, in the end, he was hero or villain.