Willy Brandt's Gesture Poem by Paul Warren

Willy Brandt was the German Chancellor
Who mended fences after the Second World War
A journalist during the war who fled
To Norway and Sweden campaigning against the Nazis instead

There were many things he did to make amends
For the blood the heartache and dead in the end
On 7 December 1971 he visited the Warsaw Ghetto
Where Polish Jews were pushed together with no where else to go

A hell on earth where death was a normal show
A place where the Nazis killed and destroyed in their flow
The world looked on as he went to his knees
Praying forgiveness for these horrible deeds

Later in 1971 he was given the Nobel Peace Prize
As the world looked to cut these deeds to size
It is said the Brandt knelt for all Germans
To pray for these souls lost at their command

As the years make these memories fade
We should remember such men and hail them in our bade
And when evil is set to dwell on this earth
Hope that we have such leaders to deny them any girth.

© Paul Warren Poetry