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It is so easy to create a wall
But it does not have to be that way at all
When all around we see but dark and murk
Building bridges is hard work.

Of course we’d love to see free passage
But we keep hearing of the damage
Which occurs when dangerous men
Use bombs and not the pen

So then I think back through the mists
Before the plethora of visas and permits
When crossing borders was a mere formality
And men could immigrate without complexity

But it does not take a genius to see
That of wars and frictions they were not free.
Then, as now, conflicts they did rage.
It was perhaps not such a golden age.

Now building bridges you may pursue
With those who live next door to you
But to go further is an awful sweat
And so these days you have to use the internet.

© Richard Strong, November 2010