What a terrible night, so cold and misty,
At midnight it became even frosty.
Within a few meters of the van light
Nothing was invisible, left or right.
So cold and scared I shrank into my seat,
Unable to move my stiff hands and feet.
A paralyzing fear crawled up my spine
When I almost knocked down a traffic sign.
No sooner I pulled myself together
When I thought I saw a shaking figure.
The idea of leaving it behind
In such a cold night didn’t cross my mind.
Therefore I stopped right away and drove back,
Though it was too hard to see the dark track.
All of a sudden I heard some knocking
When the howling wind sent the car rocking.
I braked immediately, opened the door
And saw a trembling man soaked to the core.
It was hard to see the man’s face indeed
Behind the frosty mist of the night’s shield.
Therefore I let him in without delay
Because his base was so far away.
Before he got in, he threw a bundle
On the back seat and then pushed a rifle.
Unexpectedly he was a soldier,
And consequently I was in danger.
How would he communicate or react,
If he discovered who I was in fact?
He might be grateful, obliged and thankful,
Or he might be suspicious and doubtful.
In fact, I feared I would later regret
If he my gesture he did misinterpret.
It might turn out that I was so naïve,
Or damn stupid to think, or just believe
That amid this deep animosity,
A gesture of sheer generosity
Would be considered totally friendly
And not so risky or rather deadly.
The soldier I noticed was restless,
Besides, he looked bewildered and helpless.
The seat actually was terribly wet,
But I asked him to calm down and not fret.
Gradually he felt much easier,
Since in the van it was much cozier.
A few minutes later he turned to me
And asked if I could drop him near base B.
I told him, of course, it would be all right
Since I would be driving close to the site.
We talked a lot about various topics
Such as politics and economics,
Yet it was hard for him to understand
Why I had a very critical stand
Against all Israel’s atrocities
Which had led to so many casualties.
They talk and talk but the don’t give a damn;
They want to win time as much as they can.
Suddenly when snowflakes began to fall,
I had a very unfortunate call.
He asked me what language I was speaking,
“Arabic” I told him without thinking
That such a revelation would ruin
The few minutes’ peace he had indulged in.
He looked frightened, suspicious and confused,
Though he was a while ago so amused.
I didn’t know what to think or expect,
All I could do was to wait and reflect.
When he finally got back to his senses,
He resorted to his own defenses.
He snatched his rifle and held it so tight
As if he was going to start a fight.
“Stop right here,’ he threateningly ordered;
I had to obey before getting murdered
Still holding his rifle he grabbed his sack
And get off without turning his back.
Well beyond midnight I was arrested
No matter how strongly I resisted.
That night the soldier hadn’t reached his base,
Therefore I had a few charges to face.
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