I don't like Flensburg
Dalya said
as we rode
in the passenger carrier
she next to me
at the back
the Polish girl
and her mother
having changed seats
for a different view
the Southend teacher prat
still in the front
with the driver and guide
I want to be out of Germany
my dad was in Germany
in the War
she said
she stared at the passing view
not sure where he was
he didn't say much about it
I looked at her sitting there
the green top
and tight blue jeans
her dark hair
pulled in a bunch
at the back
my old man was in Egypt
in the War
I said
what did he do there?
she said
fought the Desert Fox
were there foxes in Egypt?
he was a German general
in the north African fight
called Rommel
the fight was called Rommel?
I looked at the nape
of her neck
the love bite
still there
remembering her
in her tent
unclothed and bare
no the general
was called Rommel
I said
was your old man
as you term him
the general?
I remember her *******
like two small jelly moulds
shaking there
no he wasn't a general
he was an engineer
he mended tanks
somewhat lower
in the ranks
she pointed out a church
as we passed it by
my father said he prayed
in a church in Germany
I rememberer that
she said
I remembered her
laying there
unclothed completely bare
a soft aroma
of onions
hanging in the air.
A BOY AND GIRL IN FLENSBURG IN 1974.