Do you want to see
my collection of knives?
Jim asked
sure
I said
so he went
into his
ground floor flat
and I sat
on the grass
outside
his bedroom window
cleaning my
6 shooter gun
with my handkerchief
here
Jim said
have look
at this beauty
and he handed me
a narrow bladed knife
with an eagle
on the handle
and German script
on the blade
Meine Ehre Heisst Treue
what does that mean?
I asked
Dad said it means
my honour is loyalty
Jim said
I ran a finger
along the blade
it was still sharp
it's an SS knife
he said
I handed him
back the knife
and off he went
to get another
this one
had a curved blade
be careful
of the blade
Jim said
it's very sharp
I bet that's taken off
many a head
he said
sliding his thumb
under his throat
what kind
of knife is it?
I asked
it's a Gurkha
combat knife
he said
he took
that knife away
and brought back
a knife with
a knuckleduster handle
what the hell is this?
I said
taking the knife
into my hands
and turning it over
it's an Aussie
fighting knife
Jim said
could have
slit open a ***
he said
I tried not
to think of that
but looked
at the knuckleduster handle
and imagined
a man's hand
and fingers there
at one time
I handed Jim
back the knife
and he went
back inside
there were voices
coming
from Jim's room
and Jim's old man
came to the window
and said
don't tell no one
what you've seen Benny
Jim should
have known better
and backed off
into the room
I looked
at my 6 shooter
in my lap
Jim came
along the grass
back from the flat
sorry about that
he said
Dad has this thing
about knives
and such
he helped
open up
Belsen camp
and saw too much.
TWO BOYS IN 1950S LONDON AND A COLLECTION OF WW2 KNIVES.
