Handbook for the Gates of Death
I passed beneath the arch of death
Portal to the tragic waste
Laid still with ash amid its ruin
Below the torpid, greying sun
This grave, this tomb, this mausoleum
Nadir of humanity
Preserved
We may walk in
Yet leave again by the same means
Against all chance and reason
Against the will of its architects
I passed out, survived and lived
Enough to speak of it.
The Arch, Graeme Walker, 2019
Come, pilgrim, listen.
See - all is not dead among the graves.
Now is the time to ask the question:
why do I stand here?
Because if you stand here but do not know why
you are not ready.
…
Excerpt From Handbook for the Gates of Death. Pamphlet. A5 16pp. 2019.
Read the full pamphlet - FREE DOWNLOAD
Handbook for the Gates of Death. Pamphlet. A5 16pp. 2019.
Supported by the Crinklecut Field Research Grant, Auschwitz / Birkenau.
© Graeme Walker 2019
Handbook for the Gates of Death
I.
After all that happened, you are a tourist;
You are outside looking in.
You regard the structure before you, regard the gates.
And you know you have a choice -
To pass willingly, to see the other side, to see what happened,
to see what is inside and at the same time,
against all odds, survive.
II.
Come, pilgrim, listen.
See - all is not dead among the graves.
Now is the time to ask the question:
why do I stand here?
Because if you stand here but do not know why
you are not ready.
III.
If you stand here because you know what happened here, but you still do not know why you stand here -
you’re not ready.
If you stand here because you were brought here without explanation, without context, without warning, or mourning -
without support, without space for learning, or thinking,
you’re not ready.
If you stand here because here is a destination, a coordinate, a grid reference, a position on the earth -
you’re not ready.
If you stand here because here is something to do, a place on your itinerary, a tick on your list;
if here is another thing to consume in this region -
you’re not ready.
If you stand here in the hope of taking photos or souvenirs;
if you stand here in the hope that you will be titillated or entertained;
if you stand here out of morbid curiosity;
if here is a story for you to tell or a badge you can wear;
if here is a place to scratch your name on the wall -
you’re not ready.
If you stand here distracted by your phone, or your screens, or your music;
if you stand here impatient and distracted -
you’re not ready.
If you stand here with expectations of comfort, with an idea that you will be soothed, or shielded from the dark;
If you stand here because you hope to be uplifted by stories of regular people defeating their oppressors against all odds -
you’re not ready.
If you stand here to confirm your ideologies or ignorance -
you’re not ready.
If you stand here to fill your wallet, or empty it,
you’re not ready.
If you stand here unable to grasp the possibility that humanity is comprised of both light and shadow;
if you seek to deny the darkness in its voice;
if you seek to repress what you find with tales of heroism and triumph -
you’re not ready.
If you stand here to take the position that you are good or innocent, or incorruptible;
if you are polarised and hold that morality is binary or non-existent;
If you believe that you are not responsible for your actions or the consequences of the things you do;
If you stand here in certainty of yourself and your behaviour,
in certainty that there is an order in things,
certain that you can fathom what lies before you, how it came to be, and who caused it and why -
you are not ready.
IV.
If you are not ready for what you will receive - you are not ready.
And if you are not ready -
Go home.
V.
This place has no purpose without your readiness.
If you are not ready for its lessons, if you are not ready for its wisdom, if you are not ready to listen, to act -
then you and those you love are marked.
VI
Heed the sign outside the gates of death - it reads:
FUNERAL IN PROGRESS
Here. Today. Forever. For all.
