Berlin Rebuilt Poem by C Richard Miles

Once dire, divided city, split no more
To founder in that frightful, murderous mire
Where slaughter would pursue each vain escape
As rank estrangement seemed to lend no scope
To reconciliation, East with West,
For enmity had soured and wreaked its worst
But even hatred falls and, with man’s will,
The knell was sounded for that bitter wall
That blot upon the copybook, that stain
Which now they crave to cover with more stone
Where, on Potsdamer Platz, they blithely build
In crime-concealing concrete, but more bold
With gleaming glass reflecting, brighter still,
Each enterprise financial, clad in steel
To celebrate the commerce that now binds
As one the sundered centre with the bonds
Of comradeship and international fare.
Proud phoenix risen from consuming fire
Now energised with multicultural power
That thrills from every trembling, hope-filled pore,
Though still diverse, opposing factions blend
In dazzling harmony, where all was bland,
A cosmic range, a rainbow nation dense
Where each may choose their own particular dance
And pay due homage to which piper’s call
Can make him dance, from classical to cool.
Thrive, brave Berlin, example of the best
That springs from tolerance’s heartening boost
And compromise’s healing, strengthening ways
Which, practised by the simple and the wise
Can make this city bloom again and rise,
As, from the thorn, springs sweetness of the rose.