A Memory (II)
The rod my father used to beat
us with leaned between the oven
and the wall, warning – ‘I might strike
at any time, a child better watch out.’
My father wasn’t built like a hero,
the work of whipping was hard for him;
he scarcely counted out ten lashes
when he turned pale and cold.
Worn out, he’d sit on the bench,
hold his hand to his heart, grit his teeth,
and complain to the child he just whipped,
‘See, you’ve made me sick, you thief!’
The beaten child stared at him,
unable to grasp the words, not knowing
what he did to deserve the whipping,
still baffled by the strange complaint.
Meanwhile, my mother ran to get a glass of water,
unloading her resentment through her tears:
‘Why did you hit the child? He was quiet as a rabbit!’
My father couldn’t hear a word of what she said.
My father had fainted on the bed,
drops of cold sweat on his white forehead:
and look – the whipped child is contrite,
and look – the whipped child revives the flogger.
Translated by Richard Fein
Page(s) 81-82
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