24 MAY 1940, Page 14

BIDDYA

AT noon they fell upon Biddya, Fariz Azzoni, Hamid Zwatta, And forty of their fighting men.

The heat of the day gave way to heat of battle;

Blood added scarlet to the grey of dust; Bullets woke the village With sudden song, With strange, untoward exhilaration.

The Negro from Kap Dih fought splendidly, Knifed two of Hamid's followers, then, Himself shot, died immediately, Earringed, in jet magnificence.

After this (leaving ten dead And a girl's body under the ilex) Fariz Azzoni, Hamid Zwatta, And thirty-five of their fighting men, Vanished through the olive groves.

This, the Muktar reported, clamourously excited, When I arrived, too late, to his assistance.

Palestine, 1939. PATRICK HORE-RUTHVEN.