Building a Wall

I'm writing this poem in the last days of 2018. The government of the United States is shut down in a fight over the building of a border wall. I am reminded of another border wall that was erected during my lifetime. In 1961, East Germany built a wall Of concrete, barbed wire, and steel Ninety-six miles around East Berlin At the cost of a bit less than four million dollars And a bit more than 200 lives. Intended to stem the flood of East Germans Seeking freedom to prosper in the West. A young and inexperienced President Kennedy Didn't comprehend why East Germany Needed a concrete wall When it already had An Iron Curtain. In 1989 the Berlin wall was torn down in a frenzy Of sledge hammers and bulldozers. Only remnants of it now remain - mostly in museums. East Germans celebrated and rebuilt their lives. The reunited Germany flourished And joined other nations in a united European future. Why do we think that our wall will have a different legacy?