Germany – KensView

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Fuhrer’s service dodged
Dresden, DDR hell fled
Migrant success earned
Rise of MAGA eyewitnessed
To the Fatherland return?

― 短歌 (tanka) for Heinz

Don’t Fence Me In

Comrade Eberhard greets me
at the Last Resort Gasthaus,
two clicks from the checkpoint,
offering me ein Bier.

He touts the merits of Marxism:
classless society, all being equal,
no matter education or post,
everyone guaranteed work.

Vlad, Joe, and Erich, he says, promote
the harmonious spirit of sharing,
no competition and a unified society,
with little crime and few concerns.

With work, responsibilities, and rewards
shared by one and all,
there’s no envy, jealousy, or ambition,
an efficient distribution of resources.

He asserts they cultivate the growth
and betterment of society,
and defy the reign of the capitalists
that subverts the will of the proletariat.

Then why, I ask, do you need a wall?
You have a Mexican one, he replies.
But ours keeps out intruders,
while yours locks people in.

Munich

Many headed to Munich,
hoping for bier-soaked games;
but Black September had other plans
to deliver a Mighty fist.

Wearing tracksuits and toting gym bags
packed with grenades and AKMs,
they entered the unwary apartment
where Israeli athletes were asleep.

Slaying two and taking nine
to trade for their Arab brothers
with an allahu akbar,
they demanded a flight to Cairo.

As copters were encircling,
snipers unguided and untrained
sprang a reckless ambush,
the terrorists returning fire.

A rescue turned bloodbath,
nine and more were lost
in smoke, gunfire, and explosion,
three captors taken alive.

But, vilely these were later let go,
exchanged for Lufthansa Flight 615
so they could receive “hero’s welcome”
as they landed in Tripoli.