Stolperstein (Stumbling Stones)

Of all the memorials I've come across
Acknowledging heartbreak and sorrow and loss,
The stolperstein dotting the streets of Berlin
Have reminded me most of what shouldn't have been.

These bricks made of brass are the work of one man*
Who, as part of a project, came up with a plan
To commemorate victims the Nazis had taken
Away from their homes, where their lives were forsaken.

In English, the "stumbling stones," as they're called,
Are carefully crafted and later installed
In front of the buildings where Jews did reside 
And were forcibly moved though they pleaded and cried.

Each brick (there are thousands) has name, age and date
Of the person who lived there and suffered the fate
Of a horrible torturous lead-in to death;
Inscribed, too, are camps where they took their last breath.

Memorial sculptures and artworks abound
Wherever a Holocaust victim's been found 
But to me, these brass bricks are the most poignant yet
And an image I know I will never forget.

*Guenther Demnig