Dancing in Warsaw

The peasants lined up for food in Warsaw.
Their faces were sad, their postures shrunken.
Their misery grated on two soldiers,
who ordered them to be happy and dance.

They pulled two cringing peasants from the crowd
and shoved them roughly into each other.
The peasants forced smiles on to their faces
and danced in the frigid November air.

More and more peasants were pulled from the mass
and pushed into the arms of a stranger
as the German soldiers laughed together.
Their stomachs were full, and their hearts empty.