Broken sonnets – 3

Maximilian  Kolbe

Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Catholic priest who volunteered to take the place of another prisoner who was to be starved to death in revenge for an escape from Auschwitz.

In Auschwitz yesterday, a man escapes.

Today, ten are chosen to starve to death.

One man cries out, “My wife! My child!”

Another steps forward. “Take me instead.” They did.

When nine had died, he alone was still alive.

An injection of carbolic acid finished him off.

They needed the cell.