MauerFall!

They could talk of nothing else today
But the date the Wall was swept away
Harsh symbol of the long Cold War;
It was meant to stand for evermore.

Watchtowers around the clock were manned
Over this floodlit, no man's land
Government exodus to Bonn
Berlin, split in two, looked on.

The Prague Spring crushed by Soviet tanks
Fomented rebellion in the ranks
The Super Powers stood their ground
As no Entente could be found.

Cracks in The System were contained
The Soviet Bloc, though weak, remained.
Then Hungary took a giant stride
Giving exit on the Austrian side.

A gateway opened to the West
It turned into a litmus test
A cry for freedom had been heard
Europe waited, no one stirred...

With hindsight, looking back, we know
The winds of change began to blow
Beleaguered East Berlin awaits
With bated breath by guarded gates.

So what happened on November 9
Back in 1989
Seemed incredible, untrue;
Streams of people flooded through

To West Berlin in glare of lights
It was the most surreal of nights;
Through lack of orders? Intuition?
The Wall now seemed an intermission.

The guards allowed the people through
Many climbed to get a view
Of East and West, of grey and blue
Euphoria was born anew.

What happened back in Eighty-Nine
Belongs firmly to another time
But those who watched events unfold
Desire their story to be told.

(c) Poet in the woods 2014



It stood for 10,316 days and fell on 9th November, 1989.