“BUT GRANDPA - ”... “DON'T BE SILLY”

“But Grandpa, how can the Zionists in
Israel collaborate with the Nazis in
South Africa?”
“Don't forget you're Jewish you know.”
“I know, but I'm Black, too.”
“Don't be silly.”

This old man
He left his land
Before the Second World War began
He came to Canada looking for a better life
With his little son and his wife

This old man
Was an engineer
And he was a pioneer
But in Canada he had to change his name
Anti-Semitism was immigration's game

Forty years
Later
He argues with his grand daughter
Who doesn't understand his past or his
   pain

Of leaving Romania and never working in
    his trade
And he doesn't
Realize that she
Has a very complex identity
She is Black of mixed race Jewish and middle class
She is Canadian and full of sass.