war kids in amsterdam

we’re outside in my mother’s garden and the sun is out in september. I can’t blame him, or even her, she says. they were scarred by the hunger, 1944. at the close of the war they’d be bringing home a turnip and get stopped and beaten. over a turnip, I say. ja, she breathes and as she lifts her glass to her lips wine trickles down in sweet teardrops onto the grass. the dog doesn’t even stir.

Ian Joseph MacMenamin is a neuropsychologist and Master of Letters (MLitt) candidate in Creative Writing at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. He’s currently working on translations of ancient Japanese and Irish poetry. His work has been published in publications such as Sunbeams, Every Writer’s Resource and DeFusie. He doesn’t even speak Japanese.