נפתלי פרימור, שירתי

On The River Bank in Mindanao

The old man looked into my eyes
Don't talk around; what is your family name?
I calmly replied: Jonathan Matias
Is the army general Bal Matias your relative?
Yes, he is my father.
Do you know that here in Cotabato
He killed many of my Jihad fighters?
I smelt the outcome of the interpretator suddenly loosing
The fish soup into his pants
The old man exchanged a few words with his K-47 carriers
Then they all started to laugh
The interpretator: Any of these soldiers wouldn't have been born
If it was not your father who raped so many women here
They would be your half brothers
It's the only time I felt proud of him.

April 29, 2013