A wall rose up to trap ideas
And trapping people too,
Those who stayed became the East
Those who fled the few.
Written in the blood of hope
Martyr’s to the West.
They came they saw they cried
They chose which one was best.
They saw a world unlike their own
They flew the dreaded nest;
The Iron Curtain was a time
A statement clear and bold
People talk and words have wings
Words are hard to hold.
Demolished by the cries of change,
Its past is passing still
Ruined shards like ghosts remain
Another world, a Stonehenge full of pain.
Now monuments of iron and stone
Weight heavy on its past,
From Postdam to Potzdamerplatz
The change is infinitely vast.
The curtain’s gone the chains undone
The city smiles again,
And museums grander than before,
With pillared domes remain
One eyed Nefertitti, watches from her tower
Nebucanezza shimmering Gate,
A monument to power.
I stare and see no lessons learned
No war has ended sweet,
No sacrifice to God or Stone
Is worth the endless weep.
Berlin stands divided still
Welcoming and kind,
It’s history of such ill-will
Is not difficult to find.
Berlin 2017