a poem for berlin and for us

the fall of the berlin wall was just a taste

when we no longer feel trapped by the familiar
when we feel free to pass through gates
when we feel free to be who we are,
no longer suspected, no longer hated, no longer threatened

when we feel free to run past the bullets
and cry to the other, the one on the other side
You are my brother,
when tears and hugs of joy

Jew and Gentile
when we are thankful
to be

when the wall inside of us has gone down
and we no longer have to hide
or scream because we feel threatened,
then our land becomes champagne, popping open

and pouring over our neighbor
when Arab and Jew, when brother says to brother
I will protect you

then will unleash the force of life
death overcome, graves opened,

the tyranny of the walls will be gone
no one will stop crying,
laughing, yelling, singing,
climbing up and over and back again
(was it real?)
no one will stop waving banners
everyone will dance,

this nation did it
known for their reserve
they did it,
they got drunk and silly
and soldiers forgot their bullets
and children stayed up all night

and everyone forgot to let go of each other