2 Poems by Sophie Katzman:
Descendant’s Blessing
Zadie. Zionist. Yellow stars. Young and old
yearning for years passed. Yahrzeit. Yiddush:
lyb, sholem. War. Woody Allen. Leaving
notes on the Western Wall. The V’ahavta.
U-blessed by the Orthodox Union. Torah.
Tzedakah. Tikkun Olam, we repair
the world. Shabbat. Sternberg Sewing.
Samuel’s Metal Shop. Schlep.
Shylock. Phillip Roth. Repent
on Yom Kippur. Queen Esther. Purim. Praised
are you. Never Again. Matzoh. Money.
Mourning. Love. Light. Kvetching
and Kvelling. Jerry Seinfeld.
Jerusalem our home. Israel. Independence.
Hatikvah: Hope. Hebrew school. Hamentashen.
Alan Ginsberg. G-d grant us peace,
free us from oppression. Food:
They tried to kill us, we survived
so let’s eat! Escape. Ethics. Eighteen. Doctors.
Deuteronomy, the fifth book. Star of David.
Challah. Candles for all the bodies
never buried. Eight nights of Chanukah.
Boca, Bagels, blintzes.
Bubbie’s house. Blessed are you
Adonai our G-d.Anne Frank.
Adam Sandler. Amen.
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Elegy to my Bat Mitzvah Dress
Your silk sash clung to me
tied in a lavish bow
pearl pink, elegant, sweet
button after button
lining the back bodice.
My hands graced your silk fabric
as I walked the bridge
between innocence and virtue,
while words
of harmonious Hebrew
slipped from my tongue,
while Rachel and Leah
whispered into my ears
prayer after prayer.
Slow dances
only smooth
because of the way
your skirt swung me,
nerves only calm
because of your beauty
that lifted me
as my chair bounced
in the air.
Your flowers gave me one last chance
to run through the fields,
your sequins, one last time to sparkle
before the night’s end
when the buttons came undone
thirteen in total,
one for each of those years.
Sophie Katzman is a student at Trinity College.
