Hemmed In Poem by Jan Oskar Hansen

I'm still in Cascais
Waiting to go home to my house in the Algarve
30 years since the Berlin wall came down with the help
Of Russia let us not forget this.
In the meantime, many more walls have been built
Mainly in Israel, a program on the TV didn't mention this
We don't like to say anything upsetting.
The wall between me and my house is called old age
When it comes down no one wants to cross it.
The Chinese wall is a tourist attraction, no China
Is building a silk- road instead of covering the whole world.
There are many unseen walls between people, classes
Poor or rich, and between you and me.
The hope is that abstract walls will come down
The rest is steel and concrete suitable for building houses