Marutas

A poem written in memory of the victims of Unit 731 during World War II.

they said it was in the name of science.

"marutas," or logs, they called us,

as we were forcibly ripped

from our families, and

hoarded into the slaughter-

house prison,

called unit 731.

like nameless porcines,

our identities became numeric.

we were stripped of clothing,

stripped of character,

stripped of humanity,

wedged into cages,

and shrouded 

by opaque doors.

fear hand-sculpted images within me,

yet even those were incapable of

making this agony as real

as the inhuman wails that

pierced the walls...

these maniacal things

that held the title of "doctors"

vivisecting human subjects

(men, women, and children)

alive

awake

without the privilege

of anesthesia or sleep,

infiltrating their bodies

with infections of distant memory: 

bubonic plague,

cholera,

anthrax,

enthralled by their pain,

their hemorrhaging,

their throes of death.

and in a sliver of a moment,

it was my

turn, to enter

the sacrificial chamber.

as i lay upon

my steel tomb,

lifeless eyes

watching mine,

i asked the silence,

when your blade

cuts a log

for kindling,

does it scream?

Author's Note

I was inspired to write this when a literary magazine was looking for "crime"-themed poetry. No disrespect is intended to Japan or its culture.

Reviews

[Robbie~xoxo~]

Amazing!..

You filled my mind with horrible images of this nightmare... heartwrenching, to say the least..

I'm appalled at the atrocities that ensued, while these innocent men, women, and children were held captive.

It's horrifying to know these situations existed... What monsters will do during the war, to go through such lengths of torture and testings....Terrible!

This is a profound write, Eric... powerful write, indeed!~xoxo~

[Eric Pudalov]

Thank you so much, Robbie!!! I've been going through a bit of a dark period myself...not as many romantic poems. Hopefully I'll get back to that eventually! :-)

[Robbie~xoxo~]

Write what you feel... they make the best poetry... (((hugs))) :)

[Lyn Anderson]

This is a fantastic write, Eric. So glad to read you again, my fine fellow flagger. Why on earth would it be disrespectful, except by people who say, you could not possibly know ...

[Eric Pudalov]

Thanks KL! Good to see you again, too! The only reason I thought it might be disrespectful was that for a long time, Japan officially denied that this camp existed. But let's face it - WWII was a horrible time in history, and most of the countries involved did horrible things.

[Lyn Anderson]

This poem prompted me to read up on the subject, which I think is a good thing. It never ceases to amaze me, the horrors humans can inflict on others. Yet we are the "civilized" ones ...

[Eric Pudalov]

Oh, I know! It's crazy. Hey, by the way - I just wrote a new erotic poem...would you be willing to check it out soon? I want to know your opinion!! Thanks. I think I just hadn't been inspired in awhile!!

[Poet]

This is incredible writing. I commend you for writing such a vivid poem.

[BlackRose]

WOW, what a powerful dreary write. The images that poke through my mind of the horror and pain those ones inflicted by these horrible men. And in life some wheres now is a shame that similar to this it still does exist. Well done indeed though.