04-26-2016, 10:33 PM
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?)
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?)
~ I think I just quoted myself - Achebe

