deepundergroundpoetry.com
The Jewish Question
she was a good friend of mine
from college in western maryland
we studied theatre and sign language
the wedding invitation arrived
my heart swelled with joy
a normal reaction
why I felt this joy
was unexpected
in all the years I knew her
i was the catholic friend
she didn’t know
my ancestry
because in my family
ancestry didn’t exist
there is this memorial
shoes on the danube
officers ordered
Jewish men, women,
and children
to remove their shoes
before shooting
them into the river
few years after her wedding
i took my husband to budapest
to show him this memorial
visitors placed notes and candies
in the shoes
this was how hungarians treated Jews
we stood before the last remnants
of the Jewish ghetto
where they crammed
70,000 Jews into .12 square miles
you don’t have to be a mathematician
to imagine
tears in my eyes
the prayers ascending
the liberating music
dancing at her wedding
linking arms and encircling
round and round
my grandmother made
two separate lineages
you imagine a lot of effort
my mother
her daughter in law
discovered the original
she compared the two:
why are these names
changed
Marta?
my father
and his eight siblings
went over forty years
without ever knowing
grandfather left
grandmother wept
her children could not conceive
their ancestral truth
it was a beautiful wedding
from college in western maryland
we studied theatre and sign language
the wedding invitation arrived
my heart swelled with joy
a normal reaction
why I felt this joy
was unexpected
in all the years I knew her
i was the catholic friend
she didn’t know
my ancestry
because in my family
ancestry didn’t exist
there is this memorial
shoes on the danube
officers ordered
Jewish men, women,
and children
to remove their shoes
before shooting
them into the river
few years after her wedding
i took my husband to budapest
to show him this memorial
visitors placed notes and candies
in the shoes
this was how hungarians treated Jews
we stood before the last remnants
of the Jewish ghetto
where they crammed
70,000 Jews into .12 square miles
you don’t have to be a mathematician
to imagine
tears in my eyes
the prayers ascending
the liberating music
dancing at her wedding
linking arms and encircling
round and round
my grandmother made
two separate lineages
you imagine a lot of effort
my mother
her daughter in law
discovered the original
she compared the two:
why are these names
changed
Marta?
my father
and his eight siblings
went over forty years
without ever knowing
grandfather left
grandmother wept
her children could not conceive
their ancestral truth
it was a beautiful wedding
Published 22nd Dec 2018
| Edited 20th Jan 2019
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Such a poignant, remarkable telling, dearest poetess. And I can’t imagine not knowing one’s ancestry. But I do know such encouraged ignorance abounds ...and why it’s encouraged.
Thank you for this.
Thank you for this.
22nd Dec 2018 11:16pm
Thank you for giving your insights on this very personal story. I wasn’t sure if linking the wedding and my personal history worked, but I think it worked well enough
I always appreciate your feedback, especially from one as gifted as you
I always appreciate your feedback, especially from one as gifted as you
The Soul knows what the mind has forgotten. The blood is the Life for a reason.
Both the photo and the poem are deeply stirring to my Jewish ancestry ( Latvia ) and love of poetry.
We should never judge nor be judged for how we chose to survive, or protect our loved ones.
Thank you for sharing.
Both the photo and the poem are deeply stirring to my Jewish ancestry ( Latvia ) and love of poetry.
We should never judge nor be judged for how we chose to survive, or protect our loved ones.
Thank you for sharing.
It’s a difficult story to tell. I have more to write on this but probably have to unpack and reflect a little more ... this one was just a small vignette of it.
I usually don’t post pictures with my poetry but I think the photo tells more than what my words can say .
Thank you for sharing your story as well. It would be a very good competition I think: writing of one’s heritage
I usually don’t post pictures with my poetry but I think the photo tells more than what my words can say .
Thank you for sharing your story as well. It would be a very good competition I think: writing of one’s heritage
24th Dec 2018 2:40am
