AGAINST THE ODDS Marjolijn Hof Translated by Johanna H Prins and Johanna W Prins GROUNDWOOD BOOKS HOUSE OF ANANSI PRESS TORONTO BERKELEY
For Otto
My father was on his way to a war His suitcase was packed He just had to say goodbye Every now and then he went off to a war At least once a year You’re heading the wrong way when you go off to a war It’s better to stay as far away from wars as you can But my father is a doctor and they need doctors in a war My father likes to be needed All my father’s trips had turned out okay So far he had always come home in one piece But I worried that traveling is kind of like jumping rope For a long time you skip along just fine But not forever Sooner or later you miss a beat Don’t worry said my father That didn’t help Traveling is dangerous Everyone knows that All kinds of things can happen For example my father could get sick He could get malaria Or yellow fever And there are tons of other scary diseases Come on Kiki my father said It’s not such a big deal I’m super healthy and I’ve had lots of shots He
