NaPM April 26 2016

[Achebe]

Palestine

Cresting the hill - that white redoubt?
My father’s farm. Inch by inch, they have
occupied it, and when fighting broke out
from settlers shelling peanuts on a  prophet's grave
(someone threw a stone, so they turned the village out)
they made it a sea of soldier's camps.

Praise Germany, its pestilential swamps
where their bones lie: too many to gather.
Burdened with their flow of endless tears
the Rhine ran salty for years...

We need shelter for the night. Is there a room at this inn?

All full, my man, you could sleep on the floor, but it'd be a sin
as your wife is with child. I feel for your plight.
There are beds aplenty, but  I don't want a din
in the middle of the night.

There aren't any rooms elsewhere, could we stay here tonight?

Sometimes they don't give up. Such begging asks a ban.
There’s a barn at the back. Wherefrom come you, my man?

Galilee. Thank you for your kindness. We're quite out of breath.

(Then I know where you're from. No wonder you're a beggar. What good can come from Nazareth?)