Near Bad Lauterberg, 1982

It was the sign that stopped us And then we saw the stone Dedicated to an escapee Who had died there alone. We read the inscription All the time being aware Guards in the tower watched Every move we made there Halte Hier Grenze! (Stop this is the Border) The sign displayed To avoid any possible disorder. Behind the wire were the mines Then the strip, totally bare of green, Raked and swept twice a day So new foot prints can be seen. In full view of all The observation towers Directly in line with the stone And commemoration flowers. He is standing there watching us Bins lens reflecting glare of the sun, Slung over his shoulder His loaded automatic gun. Is he the one who shot the man to Stop the attempted freedom bid; If it wasn’t him for certain One of his colleagues did. Halte Hier Grenze What was it all about Not to stop people going in But to stop them getting out. Such a state of desparation That so many did their best, And so many failed and died Just to live in the West. We took the mandatory photo And then we didn’t linger, Just turned our backs and walked After giving him the finger.